Zimbabwe: The 2008/09 Agricultural Season Fertiliser Shortage

…About 70 percent of Zimbabwe is covered with sandy soils, mostly derived from coarse granite, which are generally acidic. This presents a challenge for any agriculturalist wishing to replenish the NPK (nitrogen, phosphate and potash) macronutrients required for plant growth to overcome soil fertility depletion. These soils need periodical rest, rotation with legumes and agricultural lime applied to adjust the acidity.

So using a conservative fertiliser application rate of 250kgs per hectare for Ammonium Nitrate(AN) and 300 kgs per hectare for Compound D basal fertiliser for the 2008/09 maize crop, only 24 000 hectares of maize will have adequate fertiliser at a cost of US$1083.00 per tonne. The average world price for one tonne for 34.5% AN fertiliser is US$425.00 per tonne and for Compound D (8:14:7, N-P-K) is US$500.00 per tonne. These prices are from Harare depots, transportation to rural areas can increase this price.


A farmer in Zimbabwe this season will pay U$$ 1.08 per kg of fertiliser as compared to US$0.45 per kg for his counterpart in a neighbouring functioning economy. Therefore, to plant one hectare of maize the farmer will fork out US$594.00 per hectare, assuming the rains are good, the seedbed is perfect and germination is within the acceptable 95-99% range. However most farmers will have to replant or embark on