Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Niger Fertilizer Reform

Alizamir, Saed, Gr...

Case

Niger Fertilizer Reform

Alizamir, Saed; Grudda, Steven; Sun, Peng

QA-0981 | Published August 13, 2025 | 10 Pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Learning Objectives

"Niger Fertilizer Reform" immerses MBA students in a high-stakes policy optimization challenge faced by a consulting team advising the Republic of Niger on agricultural-sector reform. In 2017, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and other international donors conditioned nearly USD1 billion in grant funding to overhaul Niger's inefficient and politically entrenched fertilizer procurement and distribution system. The consulting team, led by an MBA student working with Endsight Consulting and the International Fertilizer Development Center, was tasked with developing a reform plan that could dramatically reduce fertilizer costs while ensuring timely availability across Niger’s eight regions. Students are provided with rich contextual and quantitative data—including transportation costs, supplier constraints, demand projections, and special contractual offers—and are challenged to build and extend an optimization model to evaluate strategic sourcing and distribution decisions under various scenarios, including budget constraints and supplier discount schemes. Pedagogically, the case is designed to teach core optimization concepts (including linear programming, binary decision variables, etc.) within a realistic, data-rich, and politically complex environment. It develops students’ ability to translate a messy, multistakeholder problem into a structured quantitative model, interpret results in light of operational and political feasibility, and communicate data-driven recommendations. The case is well suited for core decision analysis or operations courses, offering an engaging blend of quantitative rigor, global context, and managerial judgment.