A researcher from The University of Queensland has secured more than $500,000 in funding to improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Islands by boosting local mineral security (as an alternative to imported fertilisers).
Over half of the world’s 1.1 billion people in multidimensional poverty are farming without fertilisers and countries in Africa and the Pacific, import over 90% of their fertiliser needs, leaving farmers vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price shocks. This undermines their mineral security: the sufficient and affordable access to the minerals necessary for human development.
New ARC DECRA Project
Dr Fitsum Semere Weldegiorgis, a senior research fellow at UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, will use new funding from the 2026 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), to examine local mineral supply chains and improve mineral security, particularly artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), to transform access to affordable fertilisers and enhance crop productivity.
“By examining innovations led by small and medium enterprises that connect small-scale miners with farmers, my project aims to investigate this key nexus between mineral insecurity and food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific,” Dr Weldegiorgis said.
“This research could offer alternative pathways for poverty reduction, promote self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on foreign aid.”
Strong Global Partnerships
Professor Daniel Franks, director of the Global Centre for Mineral Security, where the project is based explained that although Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) aims to achieve food security by 2030, the mineral security element of that is missing.
