Partner Letter to IFC: Indorama, Nigeria (Aug 2023)

In August 2023 African and International Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) reached out to the IFC with serious concerns about their proposed US$1.25 billion loan to Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd.

They question the potential environmental and health impacts of expanding Indorama’s operations in Rivers State, Nigeria, focusing on pollution affecting local biodiversity and communities, and the lack of new stakeholder engagement despite the significant expansion.

Globally, chemical fertilizers like those produced by Indorama can harm the environment and health, and exacerbate issues such as soil degradation and water pollution. Supporting the loan could worsen these problems and contribute to the expansion of industrial livestock production, impacting food security in Africa.

The partner CSOs highlighted these issues and urged the IFC to reconsider and align their investment with more sustainable agricultural practices.

Whatever the end-use of Indorama’s products, IFC’s proposed loan offers financing on favorable terms for the expansion of  an industrial approach to agriculture while the World Bank itself has for years emphasized the need for public support for more sustainable agroecological and regenerative approaches.  Given evidence that in Africa, nature-based agriculture such as agroecology can boost yields and farmer livelihoods while benefiting the environment, shouldn’t IFC be focusing its limited resources on such approaches?

Letter to IFC about proposed Indorama investment, page 2

Use the link below to download and read the letter.