WACOT Renews Fertiliser Partnership with Edo State

News in Brief:

— WACOT Limited has renewed its partnership with the Edo State Government to operate and develop a state-owned fertiliser company.

— The partnership targets local fertiliser production, improved access to farm inputs and stronger support for Nigeria’s food security goals.

WACOT Limited announced renewing its partnership with the Edo State Government on fertiliser production through the Edo State Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited (ESFCCL) in Auchi.

The renewed agreement extends a partnership that began in 2017, with both parties reaffirming their commitment to increasing local fertiliser production, improving access to farm inputs for smallholder farmers and supporting Nigeria’s broader food security efforts.

Sadiq Kassim, President of the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and Director of Corporate Affairs at TGI Group, said the facility has a strategic role in the country’s fertiliser industry and food security.

He explained that the plant is the only facility in the South-South that can produce tailored, crop-specific fertiliser blends suited to the region’s soil requirements.

According to Kassim, the facility can also produce specialised chemical blends for the North-East, where security challenges have made it harder to establish fertiliser production facilities.

Partnership Revives Underused Asset

WACOT Managing Director, Naveen Chaurasia, said the renewal reflects the company’s long-term commitment to Edo State and Nigeria’s agricultural development. He pointed to the partnership as an example of how public-private collaboration can be used to bring dormant industrial assets back into productive use.

He added that the company had demonstrated through the partnership that a well-managed public-private partnership could revive moribund assets and deliver economic value.

For the Edo State Government, the renewed agreement is a part of a wider strategy to attract investment and expand industrial activity in the state. Omoh Anabor, Commissioner for Business, Trade and Investments, said the agreement involving the state government, ESFCCL and WACOT goes beyond the formal renewal of a business arrangement.

He said the partnership could help position Edo as a destination for investment and industrial growth while improving farmers’ access to agricultural inputs. According to Anabor, the collaboration is expected to support food security, create jobs and generate enterprise opportunities in Auchi and across the wider state.

The agreement also places the Auchi facility within a broader conversation about Nigeria’s ability to produce critical agricultural inputs locally. For farmers, the value of such facilities depends not only on production capacity, but also on whether quality fertiliser reaches farms on time and at prices that support profitable production.