CEO of Morocco's fertilizer exporter Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) Mostafa Terrab has been named chair of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), becoming the first African to head the nonprofit organization that represents the global fertilizer industry. According to Kenyan online newspaper Capital News, Terrab succeeded Rakesh Kapur who serves as the joint Managing Director Chief Financial Officer at Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited. Tarrab's election was announced at the IFA 2019 annual conference held on June 12 and 13 in Montreal, Canada. During this meeting, OCP head highlighted his priorities as chairman of IFA, stressing that he will be focusing on «innovation and addressing the still unacceptably low levels of fertilizer use in Africa». «By scaling up improved soil analysis and nutrient best management practices, farmers in Africa can increase the efficiency and productivity of their farms and avoid the additional conversion of an estimated 80 million hectares of additional land to desert», Terrab said. Commenting on Terrab's chairmanship, Director General of IFA Charlotte Heberband said that «the global fertilizer industry remains committed to environmental stewardship and stakeholder relationship building». «We are excited to continue on this important path under Terrab's chairmanship», she added. For the record, Mostafa Terrab has been the bed engineer of Moroccan state-owned OCP since 2006. Before joining OCP, he worked at the World Bank.
