Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Food Security Group

Participants in the workshop on "Developing Private Sector Agro-Input Markets: Lessons Learned and Emerging Perspectives on Subsidy Programs.”
Jinja, Uganda, February 20, 2018

PEMEFA involves five partner organizations:

• African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP)
• International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)
• Michigan State University (MSU)
• New Markets Lab (NML)
• Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI)
  
  

Goal

To transform African agriculture and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods by improving access to and use of fertilizers by establishing comprehensive, relevant, and robust national and regional fertilizer policies and regulatory frameworks that facilitate increased private sector investment and participation in fertilizer value chains.

Objectives

1. Generate evidence to mobilize support for policy and regulatory reforms that will encourage private sector-led fertilizer markets and improve smallholder farmers’ access to and profitable use of fertilizers.

2. Build the capacity of stakeholders along fertilizer value chains to establish a conducive enabling environment for private sector-led fertilizer markets.

3. Drive ongoing efforts to reform policy, legal, and regulatory regimes for fertilizer through outreach and engagement.

Current Activities

1. Gather and synthesize existing empirical evidence on the effects of and best practices for regulations, policies, and legal frameworks to create an enabling environment for private sector investment in fertilizer value chains in SSA. [completed in December 2018]
2. Conduct a workshop on fertilizer regulatory frameworks [completed in February 2018]
3. Conduct a policy seminar/outreach event to present the preliminary findings of the synthesis report (Activity #1) [completed in February 2018]
4. Pilot a lecture series at US & SSA universities on fertilizer policy/regulatory issues. [completed in July 2018]
5. Contribute to a study on the impacts of the 2012 Economic Community of West African States Fertilizer Regulatory Framework on fertilizer trade and use. [completed in December 2018]
6. Conduct a literature review/synthesis on best practices for Public-Private Dialogue platforms (PPDs) and take stock of current fertilizer PPDs in SSA. [completed in November 2018]
7. Review the literature on effective consortium models. [completed October 2018]
8. Jointly prepare and submit at least one proposal for a multi-million dollar, multi-year grant to support future activities of the PEMEFA consortium.
    

Expected Outcomes

• Improved knowledge and understanding of best practices for the creation of a fertilizer business-enabling environment.
• Higher quality research and policy insights as a result of increased multidisciplinary and multi-institutional engagement.
• Improved stakeholder participation in the reform process.
• Increased research and public discourse at US and SSA universities on creating an enabling environment for fertilizer business.
• Better organized and more impactful fertilizer PPDs.
• A well-resourced consortium with sufficient funds to work toward the achievement of its goal and objectives.
• A consortium that harnesses the unique expertise and skills of its members while leaving room for exploration and enhancement of individual strengths and interests.
  
  

Funding

PEMEFA’s initial activities are supported by a planning grant from the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), a new, innovative initiative at Michigan State University that seeks to develop a collaborative and cross-disciplinary platform for addressing today’s global challenges.

The PEMEFA team includes:

• Killian Banda, M.S., Policy Research Associate, AFAP
• Porfirio Fuentes, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Markets, Trade and Policy, Fertilizer Research Program, IFDC
• Charles Jumbe, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Malawi. CARD is a member institute of ReNAPRI.
• Katrin Kuhlmann, J.D., President and Founder, NML, Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center
• Nicole M. Mason, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE), MSU
• Latha Nagarajan, Ph.D, Senior Economist - Markets, Economics & Policy, IFDC
• Maria Wanzala-Mlobela, Ph.D., Senior Director - Policy, Partnerships, and Government Relations, AFAP
• Bocar Diagana, Regional Economist, North and West Africa, IFDC
• Emmanuel Alognikou, Fertilizer Policy Expert, EnGRAIS Project Policies and Regulations Team Leader, IFDC

Contact

Nicole Mason
masonn@msu.edu
+1 517 432-4446