The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI)

The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) was created in March 2019 as a not-for-profit Moroccan Association. APNI’s founding staff include 20 multi-national scientists located in four offices. The headquarters is co-located on the campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguérir, Morocco. Other offices are placed in Nairobi, Kenya; Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire; and Settat, Morocco to serve the needs of continental Africa.

APNI staff possess years of experience in research and development work directly in Africa as well as other regions. APNI evolved from the former International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), which was a global research and education organization working across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Oceania

At the core, APNI has the mandate of developing and promoting the sustainable management of plant nutrients, thereby contributing towards the Green Revolution in Africa. To accomplish this goal, APNI addresses the major soil fertility, crop production, and food security challenges across the continent.

APNI research and outreach activities focus on:

Improving the understanding of spatial and temporal variability of nutrient needs in diverse African cropping systems,

Highlighting the role of balanced and site-specific nutrient management for greater crop yield and quality.

Offering site-specific solutions to ensure return on investment along the value chain, including smallholders.

Developing nutrient management strategies to improve soil health, reduce environmental footprints and increase climate adaptation.

Launching a Wide-reaching Research Program through Partnerships

APNI’s research and outreach activities have diverse clients, including with African national research and extension institutions, CGIAR and other research institutions, NGOs, and private industry. The research approach follows the pattern of first using data-driven problem identification, partnering with value-chain stakeholders, and then developing appropriate farmer-centric research and education solutions.

Our current research and outreach activities cover more than 12 countries with focus on maize, rice, cassava, coffee, oil palm, potato and soybean in sub-Saharan Africa, and wheat, olive, date palm and citrus in Northern Africa.

APNI’s donor portfolio includes development agencies, the fertilizer industry, philanthropic organizations and alliances, such as the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Our engagement with donors is typically through three to five-year fully funded projects with defined deliverables and outcomes that match donor expectations and our strategic goals.