Ethiopia has signed a 731 million U.S. dollar potash mining agreement with Norwegian firm Yara International as the east African country stives to be food self-sufficient, an Ethiopian official said.
Potash minerals are important ingredients for the production of fertilizers that especially beneficial to boosting yields of fruit, vegetable and coffee crops.
Ethiopian Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas Motuam Mekasa said the project will help Ethiopia be self-sufficient in meeting its fertilizer needs and earn much needed foreign currency from fertilizer exports.
The potash mining project is expected to cover an area of 54.7 square km in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar regional state.
