African leaders unite in calls to revive soil health for food security

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.