Subsequent to the KL Initiative, in the Fertilizer sub-sector, several meetings have been held by D-8 Organization as follows:

1) 1st Ministerial Meeting on Marine and Fisheries & Fertilizers and 1st Senior Officials Meeting of the D-8 Working Group on Marine and Fisheries & Fertilizers (6-8 April 2010, Cairo – Egypt)
On D-8 Working Group on Fertilizers, the following topics were adopted:

• Egypt as prime mover should continue to be permanent standing committee on fertilizer
• Strengthening cooperation in the field of fertilizer:
  1. Human resources
  2. Technical assistance
  3. Environmental impact from the production and use of fertilizers
  4. Availability of raw materials
  5. Investment opportunities and cooperation
  6. Harmonizing of fertilizers standards between D-8 countries
  7. Implementation of preferential trade agreement (PTA) for fertilizers
  8. Establishment of joint research & technological collaboration in production and supply of fertilizers and to meet every 6 month to discuss special topics workshops
• 3.Develop joint investment programs in the field of fertilizer production by encouraging and supporting investors and private sector.4.Cooperation with international organizations such as FAO and others.

During this working group meeting in Cairo, private sector of Iran – Egypt signed a letter of intent to exchange fertilizers materials and promote cooperation in this field.

2) 2nd Working Group on Fertilizer (16 May 2011 in Tehran, Iran)

Iran has confirmed to host a ” D8 Private Sector Meeting on Fertilizer ” in Tehran. The D-8 Secretariat shall wait for official confirmation from the Ministry of Agriculture of Iran.

In addition to that, Malaysia has also proposed to establish inter-D8 Group Bilateral or Multilateral Trade Cooperation on Fertilizer through offering of competitive prices and qualities. Based on environmental problems of the world, the Delegates also proposed cooperation and exchange of experiences on production of Bio-Organic fertilizers. Considering similar climates in some Member States, i.e. desert and arid lands as well as the need for mutual technical cooperation on introduction and application of fertilizers, the Nigerian Delegates underlined the importance of closer collaboration among D8 countries.

3) Ad hoc meeting on fertilizer, which was held in Kish Island of Iran, during 9-11 March 2013.

The meeting witnessed the active exchange of views on the current status of production, distribution, and trade of fertilizers in D-8 Countries, and thoroughly discuss the feasibility of established the referred trade consortium. The meeting resoluted on proposing an MoU on the establishment of a D-8 trade consortium on fertilizer. The MoU will serve as an initial draft to be presented and sought final approval from all D-8 member countries at the 2nd D-8 Ad Hoc Group Meeting on Fertilizer, which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in mid of 2013.

4) 4th Meeting of The Working Group on Fertilizer, 4th December, 2013, Abuja – Nigeria

• After deliberations in the Meeting, the delegates agreed on the following:
  That Member States, who were yet to appoint a focal point Officer, should do so to facilitate the take-off of D8 Fertilizer Association in their respective countries.
• Consideration of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Articles of Incorporation of D8 Fertilizer Association (D8FA).

The Memorandum of Understanding and the Articles of Incorporation were presented, reviewed and adopted by the Working Group. The Meeting after extensive discussions, consultations and due considerations such as the availability of facilities and administrative support for take-off, adopted Istanbul, Turkey- the D8 Secretariat as the Interim D8FA headquarters for two (2) year period. The Board shall, after evaluation of the progress made by the D8FA in various member countries at the end of the 2year period, decide on the permanent Headquarters for the Association.

The MoU shall be signed by the Ministers of Agriculture of the D8 Member States while the Article of Incorporation shall be endorsed by the Board of Directors of D8FA in their first meeting.

New Projects & Area of Cooperation

Malaysia made a presentation on the benefit of locating the D8FA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Meeting recalled that a decision on the headquarters had already been taken, and therefore advised Malaysia to represent in the next two years when the Board shall be taking a fresh decision on the issue.

Nigeria also presented a paper on areas of investment such as:

• Exploration and mining of phosphate rock
• Value addition to produce phosphatic fertilizers (SSP, TSP,DAP and MAP)
• Urea production, and
• NPK compound fertilizers.

The identified area of collaboration is capacity building on fertilizer quality assurance, which is to cover the following:

• Inspection, analysis and trials of new fertilizer formulations
• Enforcement of regulations
• Certification, registration and sanctions
• Laboratory determination/confirmation of nutrient deficiencies in fertilizers.

5)5th Agriculture Ministerial Meeting on Food Security held on 01-03 December 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey.

5th Working Group Meeting on Fertilizer: The followings are discussed:

• Malaysia proposed to build D-8 DAP fertilizer plant under the collaboration and investment of all the D-8 countries. Member States agreed to receive further documentation such as Definitive Feasibility Studies (DFS), a draft letter of intent (LoI) and other related documentations for reviewing the project proposal.
• Nigeria had very rich rock phosphate and asked how to reach out this rock phosphate because of inadequate infrastructure. Nigeria will follow up on this issue.
• Mr. Ismail Babacan from Turkey was elected as the General Coordinator and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the D-8 Fertilizer Association (D8FA) and Mr. Hossein Zamani from Iran was elected as Deputy.

6) 6th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security Held Virtually on 16 December 2020

This time the theme of the meeting was as the following:

“Sustainable agro-industry development and smallholder farmer integration in the global value chains: Key issues for D-8 Member States”

In a nutshell,The 1st Meeting on D-8 Ad Hoc Group on Fertilizer 9-11 March 2013 in Kish Island, IRAN brought the proposal based its analysis on several underlying importance of the D-8 member countries to:

• Act and conduct direct linkage between producer and consumer, hence monopoly or oligopoly practices in current fertilizer supply chain can be reduced.
• Coordinate and negotiate with producers on bulk purchase and higher volume. Priority will be given to member countries that currently have its fertilizer producers.
• Determine and secure the best fertilizer prices for the benefit of its members.
• Secure long term contract especially between governments and producers of member countries.
• Monitor the purchase and delivery of fertilizers.
• Develop the best payment mechanism and to seek other alternative modes of payment, particularly counter trade between countries.
• Ensure fertilizer quality corresponds with its specification.
• Secure syndicated loan from various sources especially member countries, Muslim countries and Persian Gulf.
• Promote fertilizer business, opportunities and knowledge through international conferences, seminars and workshops.
• Disseminate information on world fertilizer business, market trends, pricing and major players.
• Initiate business investment collaboration between member countries, for instance:
  1. Fertilizer hub development
  2. Joint ownership fertilizer compound plant
  3. Vessel chartering and ownership
  4. Warehousing and transshipment – port to port
  5. Producers open up investment to increase production from secure market
• Encourage usage of organic fertilizers between member countries.
• Encourage research and development in organic farming system and methods.
• Develop and advise on standards in organic fertilizers production.
• Develop network for raw materials availability in both organic and inorganic fertilizer production.

To implement the idea of D-8 Fertilizer Association, the proposal envisaged the establishment of a “coordinating unit” – which functions as the managing office established by the endorsement of D-8 Agriculture Ministers, to oversee and execute operational matters of D-8 member countries in fulfilling their fertilizer need.

This coordinating unit will work on the following standard of operation:

• Each member country to submit their yearly requirement, including quality specifications and dates of delivery.
• A long term contract to trade between producers/world traders and consumers will be implemented.
• Price of fertilizers will be locked with producers/world traders on yearly contract basis but dependent also on current market situation whereby it will be adjusted accordingly as per agreed formula pricing.
• The management will facilitate delivery on schedule, taking into account on vessel availability, port conditions and logistical issues.
• The management team will also provide marketing research department and advisory roles on a host of matters related to the fertilizer industry, including holding seminars, exhibitions and workshops.

6th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security Held Virtually on 16 December 2020

1. Welcome the establishment of the D-8 Research Center for Agriculture and Food Security situated in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
2. Promote Agribusiness and Value Chains in the D-8 Member States.
3. Establish the D-8 Agriculture Center in order to enhance communication and coordination among the Member States.
4. Establishment of Contract Farming Centre (CFC) Under Global value Chains in Iran.

For more information, please visit the document section and download the meeting report and Islamabad Initiatives.