Benin has allocated US$56.9 million to subsidize fertilizer purchases for farmers during the 2026/2027 agricultural campaign, the government said after a Council of Ministers meeting on 13th May 2026. The figure represents a 22.5% increase from the US$46.4 million allocated for the previous 2025/2026 season.
Authorities said the increased allocation would allow the government to keep retail prices for key fertilizers – including urea, NPK, potassium chloride (KCl), and single superphosphate (SSP) – unchanged from last season despite mounting pressure on global fertilizer markets. “Charging full market prices would hurt agricultural production and threaten the country’s food security,” the Council of Ministers said in a communiqué.
The move comes as concerns grow over a new rise in global fertilizer prices. In its latest Commodity Markets Outlook report published on 28th April, the World Bank warned that fertilizer prices could climb by more than 30% in 2026 due to the conflict in the Middle East and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime route that handles roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne fertilizer trade, or around 16 million tonnes annually.
Urea, the world’s most widely used nitrogen fertilizer, is among the products most exposed to these disruptions. The World Bank forecasts its average price could reach US$675 per tonne this year, nearly 60% above 2025 levels.
The higher subsidy allocation is particularly significant because Benin is already one of Africa’s most fertilizer-intensive agricultural economies. According to FAO data, the country applied 28.2 kilograms of mineral fertilizer per hectare of arable land in 2023, above the African average of 22.6 kg/ha and the highest level recorded in West Africa.
For the 2026/2027 campaign, which began on 23rd April, Benin is targeting 8% growth in cotton production, its main agricultural export crop and one of the country’s largest consumers of fertilizer. Staple crops such as maize and rice, which are central to Benin’s food security strategy, also account for a large share of fertilizer demand.
