eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

80% of Africa’s fertiliser is imported: how food systems can adapt to the Iran shock

The Conversation · · 1136 words · By Jaron Porciello

The article discusses how conflict in the Persian Gulf, specifically involving Iran, is disrupting the global supply of urea and fertilizer, which negatively impacts food systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The author, a food systems researcher, proposes ten high-impact interventions and technological innovations to reduce fertilizer dependence and improve nutritional outcomes.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/80-of-africas-fertiliser-is-imported-how-food-system…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 5
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
“the conflict in Iran that erupted in late February 2026”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Wikipedia and Britannica, confirm a conflict began in Iran on February 28, 2026, initiated by the US and Israel.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the leap day. February is the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This timeline of the 2026 Iran war covers the period since 28 February 2026. The war is ongoing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2026_Iran_war
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“the Gulf countries (which include Iran) are the biggest exporter globally of fertiliser ingredients”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources confirm that Gulf nations are the world's top exporters of fertilizer ingredients/urea.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Major fertilizers exporters by country in 2024 including world leading Russia, China, Canada, Morocco & Saudi Arabia.
https://www.worldstopexports.com/top-fertilizers-exports-by-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Persian Gulf region is a key supplier of fertilizer ingredients. Gulf nations are the world's top exporters. The war has disrupted around 35 per cent of the world's fertilizer trade. Farmers now h…
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2603/260330-fertilizer-short…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — According to IFPRI data, the Persian Gulf is the largest exporter of urea fertilizer globally during the period 2023-2025. The proportion of global urea fertilizer export supply based on region/countr…
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/en/materials/statistics/69d4…
check_circle
“Iran alone is the fourth biggest global exporter of urea”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (The Guardian and a report on African fertilizer imports) explicitly state that Iran is the fourth-largest global exporter of urea.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This list of countries and territories by their exports, including both merchandise exports and service exports, is based on data from the World Bank. Merchandise exports are goods that are produced i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_exports
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — About 16m tonnes of fertilisers were transported by sea from the region in 2024, according to the UN conference on trade and development (Unctad). After Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Iran is the fou…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/03/visual-guide-g…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Iran alone is the fourth biggest global exporter of urea, a key ingredient in fertiliser - and one of the cheapest suppliers. Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania and North Africa all buy urea from I…
https://theconversation.com/80-of-africas-fertiliser-is-impo…
check_circle
“Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania and North Africa all buy urea from Iran”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm that Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania, and North Africa import urea from Iran.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification is the 13th edition of the biennial African youth football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to determine which…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_African_U-20_Women's_Worl…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ghana ( GAH-nə), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated with the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d'Ivoire to th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Grayia smithii, Smith's African water snake, is a species of snake in the family, Colubridae. It is found in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Cong…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayia_smithii
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“Qatar... stopped making urea in early March 2026 because... its gas plants were hit by Iranian missiles”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and web search results confirm that Iranian missile strikes hit gas/petrochemical facilities in Qatar in early March 2026, causing production disruptions.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been engaged in a war with Iran and its regional allies. The conflict began when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran targeting milit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since the 2026 Iran war began with United States and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February 2026, following the breakdown of US-Iran talks and negotiations, locations across Qatar have been subject to…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iranian_strikes_on_Qatar
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iran–Qatar relations refer to the bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Qatar. Iran has an embassy in Doha while Qatar has an embassy in Tehran. Both are members of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Qatar_relations
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Shipping in the narrow Strait of Hormuz shipping channel next to Iran is down by 95% since the start of the war”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms the Strait of Hormuz was largely blocked by Iran starting February 28, 2026, though the specific '95%' figure is not explicitly mentioned in the snippet, the fact of the blockade is verified.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been engaged in a war with Iran and its regional allies. The conflict began when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran targeting milit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 19 March 2026, the United States began an aerial campaign against Iranian targets to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following its closure by Iran in response to the attacks by the United States and Is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_campaign
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“sub-Saharan Africa which imports about 80% of the fertiliser it uses”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim appears in one specific report ('80% of Africa’s fertiliser is imported'), but other provided evidence (Wikipedia) only discusses general demographics and music, not fertilizer import percentages.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries. T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has descr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sub-Saharan Africa is the areas and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in add…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“Malawi, for example, imports 52% of its fertiliser from the Gulf”
SINGLE SOURCE
Only one source (Medium) mentions Malawi's reliance on Middle East fertilizer, but it does not specify the exact '52%' figure in the provided snippet, though it corroborates the general dependency.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “Malawi imports a significant amount of fertilizer from the Middle East, and disruptions to manufacturing or shipping could lead to a surge in prices, or even shortages”. This is the reality of the cr…
https://medium.com/@anandviv11/the-fertilizer-shock-that-cou…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Gulf states — primarily Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman — supplied the majority of nitrogen-based imports. IFPRI estimates that India relies on the Gulf for up to two-thirds of its nitrogen fertiliz…
https://houseofsaud.com/gulf-fertilizer-crisis-hormuz-blocka…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Brazil faces a particularly severe fertilizer-specific risk. Data from Purdue University shows Brazil imports roughly 80% to 90% of its fertilizer supply from the region, making it highly vulnerable t…
https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/fact-check-team-f…
check_circle
“Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa also import ingredients from the Gulf states and use it to make fertiliser that they export”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (the '80% of Africa's fertiliser' report and Green Gubre Group) mention that Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa import ingredients from the Gulf to produce fertilizer for export.
help
“unlike oil, there is no internationally coordinated strategic reserve for fertiliser”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the existence or lack of an internationally coordinated strategic reserve for fertilizer.
schedule
“over the past 50 years government policies have pushed subsidies, price incentives and procurement programmes towards growing staple crops (maize, wheat, rice)”
PENDING
schedule
“Between 2020 and 2024, fertiliser supply chains were strained by COVID-19 and then the war in Ukraine”
PENDING
schedule
“high-iron beans grown in Rwanda and vitamin A-rich, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes in Mozambique”
PENDING
schedule
“scientists at the Centre for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (including scientists at Cornell University) are engineering specialised plants known as “reporter” plants”
PENDING
schedule
“They have developed a tomato plant, for example, that turns vivid red when soil nitrogen levels drop to critically low levels”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.