Ahead of the International Fertilizer Industry Association’s Annual Conference in Sydney next week, Farming First talks business with Terje Tollefsen, Head of Strategy and Business Development at Yara International ASA.
Tollefsen highlights the efforts made by Yara in unlocking value chains in Africa. He points to the company’s work with Masara N’Arziki, which aims to increase maize production in northern Ghana.
We “put together in excess of 10,000 farmers. They all work together in terms of securing the inputs that we assist in supplying. And there is a clear off-take mechanism, so they can sell their grains at the end of the harvest,” Tollefsen says, adding that the project has led to a tripling of yields.
Tollefsen stresses that the success of Masara N’Arziki shows that it makes business sense to help smallholder farmers thrive: “For us there is no inherent trade-off between rural development while [creating] value for the farmers and then at the same time deliver value for our shareholders.”
Watch our video for the full interview with Terje Tollefsen.