Africa is a rural continent and agriculture is by far its most important economic sector. More than 70% of Africa’s population is directly engaged in agriculture. Traditionally, farmers have cleared land, grown a few crops, and then moved on to clear more land, leaving the land fallow to regain its fertility (Sanchez 2002). However, the 3% annual growth in population − among the world’s highest − now forces farmers to grow crop after crop on the same land, “mining” or depleting mineral nutrients from the soil while giving nothing back, and to bring marginal land into production (Africa News Network 2007).
Today Africa faces a soil fertility crisis. African soils are losing an estimated $4 billion worth of soil nutrients annually. Three-fourths of the farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by severe nutrient depletion and 46% of the African continent suffers from desertification. African farmers desperately need mineral fertilizers to bring life back to the depleted soils and to feed the continent (African Fertilizer Summit 2006). Improving agriculture through improving soil fertility is an important priority for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Africa’s development framework. NEPAD promoters held a Fertilizer Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, that brought together heads of state and diverse stakeholders (African Renewal 2007), who subsequently adopted 12 action points that included taking concrete steps to improve farmers’ access to fertilizers by developing agro-dealer networks in rural areas by 2007.
Agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa is hampered by low use of inputs such as improved seeds and mineral fertilizers, low inherent soil fertility in much of the continent, and nutrient-depleted soils. Millions of smallholder farmers suffer from poverty and hunger not only because are they unable to obtain appropriate fertilizers and improved seed varieties, but also because they are unaware of the correct inputs required to achieve subsistence yields from increasingly depleted soils (Ruben and Lee 2000). Fertilizers are the key to alleviating these constraints but must be integrated with other inputs and proper soil management for their economic potential to be realized (Adesina 2001). Organic fertilizers such as plant residues or livestock manure can also be used to supply plant nutrients. This can have long-term positive effects on soil fertility though the concentation of nutrients is low. Improvement in crop growth and yield greatly depends on the efforts towards improving soil fertility. Mineral fertilizers are the only practical way to restore plant nutrients back to the severly depleted soils. However, African farmers have little access to fertilizers and cannot always afford them (Sachs 2008). It is critical to address the issue of fertilizer accessibility and availability as well as ensuring fair prices for farm products.
In most parts of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, crop yields are poor and continue to decline. This can be explained by declining soil fertility which has been identified as a major production constraint to the smallscale farmers (Sanchez et al. 1997; Ramaru et al. 2000). The situation is aggravated by the monoculture of maize and sorghum which are the staple crops in relatively wetter and drier areas respectively. Farmers have identified soil erosion, poor soil type, lack of fertilizer and lack of manure as factors that greatly contribute to low soil fertility. In most instances, low productivity is attributed to inadequate soil moisture during the growing season (Ayisi 2005). However, it was established by Odhiambo (2005) that crop growth and yield is often poor even in areas with adequate amounts and proper distribution of rainfall or even under irrigated conditions. This reveals the fact that other factors, besides water, contribute to low crop productivity; these include soil fertility and crop management practices. 
In response to the aforementioned constraints, a consortium of partners − the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), SASOL Nitro, Progress Milling, and the Limpopo Agricultural Strategy Team (LIMPAST) teamed up to design a program aimed at providing small packs of fertilizers of various sizes to a select number of Progress Milling depots. It was deemed that the small packs would be convenient in two ways: first, it would be affordable to many who could not meet the full cost of the traditional 50 kg bags and, second, it would create convenient access to farmers as the fertilizer would be sent to a depot close to them. 