FOMI (Fertilisants Organo-Minéraux Industries: Organo-Mineral Fertilizers Industries) is a company that manufactures fertilizers in Burundi.
Creation
FOMI was founded by a businessman who was engaged in importing and distributing mineral fertilizers to meet a need for fertilizers in Burundi that were economical and did not have to be imported. ITRACOM Fertilizers LTD (IFL) is a subsidiary of FOMI Fertilizers that distributes organo-mineral fertilizers in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established by the International Trading Company (ITRACOM) and operates under ITRACOM Holdings.
The FOMI factory is located in Maramvya zone of the Commune of Mutimbuzi, Bujumbura Rural Province.It is on the RN5 highway, 5.9 km from the center of Bujumbura.It was founded by the businessman Adrien Ntigacika, and is the first fertilizer plant in the region. It produces three types of fertilizer and agricultural lime. Mineral fertilizers are imported and mixed with local organic manure.
In 2019 imports of chemical fertilizers was banned and FOMI was given a monopoly on their manufacture. Manufacturing began in February 2019 with 250 employees. Six months later there were about 500 employees, of whom 400 were contract workers, and the factory was producing 150 to 200 tonnes per day. The plant was expanded in 2020, and between 2019 and 2021 production rose from 200 tons to 500 tons. As of 2021 it employed over 3,500 people.
Events
Given the dependence of Burundi on agriculture, any change to the inputs could have serious effects.
Until 2019 all crop fertilization formulas in Burundi were based on chemical (mineral) formulas.
Use of FOMI organo-mineral fertilizers in Burundi began in 2019.
There were questions about the fertilizer's effectiveness compared to chemical fertilizers, particularly from rice farmers on the Imbo plain, but also from farmers of other crops.
Trials began in 2019, and new formulas for rice, potato and maize were developed based on results.
In December 2019 the sugar company SOSUMO validated a study by experts from the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Burundi (ISABU) that recommended using new techniques and types of fertilizer to boost production. The authors noted that the existing system had been unchanged for thirty years. SOSUMO agreed to now use organic fertiliser produced by FOMI, which would reduce costs, including foreign currency costs.
In November 2021 Déo Guide Rurema, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, visited FOMI with a delegation and asked about availability of fertilizers.Demand was higher than supply, and Bubanza Province was complaining about lack of FOMI fertilizer. Although the stocks allocated to Bubanza were available, lack of fuel was affecting transportation to the province. The delegation was also able to view the manufacturing process and dispel the rumours that the fertilizer is made from sand and rice. In December 2021 FOMI received three certificates issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which would allow export of FOMI products.
In December 2021 Ministry of Agriculture arranged a workshop with ISABU, the International Rice Research Institute (RRI) and FOMI to present results and recommendations from research on the new organo-Mineral fertilizers. The new formulas used different combininations of the three fertilizers, FOMI Imbura, FOMI-Bagara and FOMI Totahaza, with recommended amounts per hectare. These fertilizers all contained 50% organic matter (manure) to boost calcium, magnesium, and potassium, plus the minerals nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in different proportions. Further research would be needed for lands in Imbo and Bugesera that are not acidic and can easily be irrigated, and for waterlogged soils used to grow rice.Research was also being done on new export crops: chia, castor, pyrethrum, cashew and millet.
In September 2023 Sanctus Niragira, the new Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, announced new fertilizer prices, and also stated that FOMI Totahaza fertilizer was being replaced by DAP/Urea, the main ingredient. Earlier claims of 30% increases in agricultural production were incorrect, but with the higher levels now recommended these improvements could be expected.
On 5 September 2023 there was a tense meeting between Gervais Ndirakobuca, Prime Minister of Burundi, and FOMI executives. The Provincial Director of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock (DPEAE) had said that stocks of fertilizer were almost empty. FOMI had promised to make fertilizer available, but would not give a deadline. Problems included lack of dolomitic lime and other fertilizers, lack of spare parts for machines imported from China, shortage of foreign currency and electricity outages.
The Deputy Director General of FOMI noted that in the previous year FOMI met demand and delivered over 24,000 tons on time. For the 2023–2024 season 39,047 tons of Imbura fertilizer had been requested, and 25,285 tons had been produced already. He defended delivery of Totahaza fertilizer for crops other than rice, for which urea would be used. He admitted that lime production was very low because machinery spare parts had not been delivered due to lack of foreign currency. The factory was being expanded first to meet domestic demand, and second to obtain foreign currency through exports.
