The opportunity for distributed green fertilizer in Africa

This report by RMI examines the potential for Distributed Green Ammonia (DGA) production to reduce Africa's reliance on expensive, volatile, and imported nitrogenous fertilizers. It highlights how modular, small-scale green ammonia facilities can lower costs for smallholder farmers, reduce transportation emissions, and leverage renewable energy to improve food security and agricultural yields across the continent.

• Nitrogenous fertilizer consumption in Africa is currently 5.5 times lower than the global average, contributing to low yields and profits for the 50 million small family farmers who produce 80% of the continent's food.
• African farmers face higher retail fertilizer prices due to a heavy reliance on imported 'gray' fertilizers, with transport costs alone accounting for 25% to 50% of the final price.
• Distributed Green Ammonia (DGA) facilities offer a modular alternative to conventional Haber-Bosch plants, being 1,000 times smaller and requiring 10 times less pressure, which simplifies financing and construction.
• TalusAg has demonstrated the viability of DGA in Africa by commissioning a commercial modular green ammonia plant in Naivasha, Kenya, in 2024, producing nitrogen fertilizer that is over 50% cheaper than imports.
• Four primary innovation areas for green ammonia production are identified: novel Haber-Bosch systems (which lower temperature and pressure), plasma catalysis (allowing nitrogen absorption in organic matters), chemical looping (potentially reducing costs by up to 90%), and direct electrochemical conversion (which eliminates the need for separate hydrogen handling).
• The report identifies Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Namibia, Rwanda, and Lesotho as countries with promising conditions for scaling DGA due to high import costs, strong renewable potential, and domestic fertilizer demand.
• Electricity costs represent 50% to 80% of the cost of green fertilizer, making cheap clean electricity a critical requirement for scaling DGA production.

APA

RMI (2025). The opportunity for distributed green fertilizer in Africa. https://rmi.org/resources/the-opportunity-for-distributed-green-fertilizer-in-africa/

Chicago

RMI. The opportunity for distributed green fertilizer in Africa. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/the-opportunity-for-distributed-green-fertilizer-in-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The opportunity for distributed green fertilizer in Africa |date=27 August 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-opportunity-for-distributed-green-fertilizer-in-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025opportunity, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The opportunity for distributed green fertilizer in Africa}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-opportunity-for-distributed-green-fertilizer-in-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }