By Agatha Ngotho, NAIROBI
Kenya
African leaders have called
for urgency in addressing soil health and fertiliser usage.
President of Kenya, William
Ruto, who is the host of the summit has called for prioritising of investment
in nitrogen fertiliser production to ensure a steady supply of essential
nutrients for crops.
According to the Guiding Acid
Soil Management Investments in Africa project carried out in Kenya, Ethiopia,
Rwanda and Tanzania, 15 per cent of all agricultural soils in Africa are
affected by acidity issues.
This causes land
degradation, decreases the availability of plant and essential nutrients,
increases the impact of toxic elements and decreases plant production and water
use.
These issues are major
constraints impacting the sustainable intensification of the African
smallholder farming system, in particular, current and future crop production.
Ruto said real-time tracking
of fertiliser market trends and last-mile logistics for distribution
underscores the importance of efficient and accessible fertiliser supply
chains.
He spoke during the Africa
Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit.
The summit was attended by six
African heads of state and government. Also present were President Mohamed Ould
Ghazouani, Chairperson of the African Union Assembly and Moussa Faki Mahamat,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission among other dignitaries.
He noted that Africa
remains heavily reliant on food imports, highlighting the limited progress
achieved decades after the Abuja declaration.
“We have very important
issues to reflect upon and resolve as a matter of urgency,” he said.
Ruto said in order to achieve
Africa's green revolution, large-scale subsidised fertiliser use is a necessary
imperative.
“Therefore, as we continue our
deliberations, I urge this summit to pay particular attention to several
critical areas including prioritising investments in nitrogen fertiliser
production facilities,” he said.
He also emphasised the need to
develop mechanisms for real time tracking of fertiliser market trends to
ensure timely availability.
This is in addition to having
sustainable strategies to make fertilisers more affordable and accessible.
“We need to enhance last-mile
logistics for fertiliser distribution which is equally critical. Moreover,
building farmers' capacities for effective fertiliser use and soil health
improvement is imperative,” Ruto said.
He added that to anchor
interventions in sustainability; “we must design effective subsidy programmes
that support both immediate productivity needs and long-term soil health.
Fundamental to our efforts will be the need to entrench production incentives by
leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area to enhance market access and
profitability for farmers.”
Faki's remarks further
highlighted the severity of soil degradation in Africa and the urgent need for
concerted action to address the issue.
He said initiatives such as
the Soil Initiative for Africa and the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Action
Plan demonstrate a commitment to long-term strategies aligned with the
continent's development goals.
“The disparity between the
current fertiliser use rate and the target set in the Abuja declaration
underscores the need for greater efforts to boost local fertiliser production
and make it more affordable for farmers. Optimising existing continental assets,
such as the African Center for Fertiliser Development, could play a crucial
role in achieving this goal,” Faki said.
The two leaders' statements
reflect a recognition of the multifaceted challenges facing African
agriculture, calling for a commitment to collaborative efforts to overcome them
for the benefit of food security and economic development on the continent.
“The current pace of soil
degradation in Africa has attained a threshold which requires proactive
attention and action from all, to halt the degradation and commence effective
soil health management,” he said.
Africa is below the global
average and the target set by African heads of state and government in 2006
where they endorsed the Abuja declaration on Fertilisers for a Green Revolution
in Africa, with a target of 50kgs per hectare per year.
Faki said the current average
fertiliser use rate stands at about 18kgs, less than half of the target set in
2006.
“Some African countries
produce fertilisers but we depend mostly on imported fertilisers, making them
very expensive for our farmers. Yet the African Center for Fertiliser
Development based in Zimbabwe has been in existence since the 1980s,” he said.
“We must optimise use of such
existing continental assets to boost local fertiliser production and deliver
quality fertilisers to African farmers at affordable prices. This is imperative
if we are to improve the continent’s agricultural sector, key for our food
sovereignty and security. These investments should also be reflected in
our national budgets,” Faki said.
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