The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $100 million loan for Nigeria’s Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals to boost production.

AfDB said the facility will help Indorama double its fertiliser output to 2.8 million tonnes from 1.4 million tonnes yearly.

The increased production is set to improve domestic supply and lower prices of urea in the country.

Despite having a large population of farmers, Nigeria spends about $6 million annually on food imports. This is attributed to little use of fertilisers, due to high costs, which leads to low crop yields.

AfDB had extended Indorama, a subsidiary of Singapore-based petrochemical producer, a previous loan in 2013 for setting up the fertiliser plant.

“The completion and exploitation of that plant in 2016 helped turn Nigeria from a net fertiliser importer to a self-sufficient producer, and now a net exporter of fertiliser,” said Mr Abdu Mukhtar, AfDB’s director for Industrial and Trade Development.

In 2017, Nigeria exported about 700,000 tonnes of urea to West Africa and North and South America.

About 20 per cent of the increased output will target these markets as well as South Africa.