Agricultural Caravans | Arab Fertilizer Association


A new challenge emerged the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) which is the need to raise farmers’ awareness and enrich their culture with regard to the optimal ways of using fertilizers, water and pesticides.

AFA depends on its main principle of playing a leading role in supporting agricultural production as well as pinpointing the role of its member companies in strengthening community development activities.

                                   

It further strives to extend bridges of communication with farmers through initiatives similar to the agricultural caravans roaming the Arab countries, as successfully and ideally carried out by OCP and commended by AFA. Bearing in mind the previously stated, AFA has accordingly prepared an ambitious plan for its member companies in order to benefit from the Moroccan “Agricultural Caravans” experience and to mainstream such an experience in the Arab region. This plan aimed to hold communications between fertilizers’ factories/experts and farmers directly in agricultural lands and to closely identify obstacles encountering farmers when particularly using fertilizers. Moreover, the plan targeted fertilizer manufacturers’ adoption of a fertilizer awareness raising process, application of fertilizers by using modern technological methods, rationalization of water consumption and development of agricultural extension in general.  

 

This initiative will be firstly effectuated in Egypt as the first agricultural caravan will be launched in April. These caravans include convening workshops for farmers to educate them on taking care of plants from the very early phases of growing, preparing the land, spreading seeds and implementing other related actions by using modern methods of soil analysis, land ploughing, seed application and sound and modern irrigation methods, namely sprinkling, dropping or others.

From another side, the agricultural caravans reflect companies’ community development responsibility, touching on farmers’ daily lives. To enumerate, the caravans design medical and educational programs and activities enhancing and strengthening relations between farmers and fertilizers’ manufacturers.