African presidents head to Kenya for fertiliser summit
Heads of state and government leaders from the African continent are scheduled to convene in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit 2024 this week. The summit will kick off tomorrow, 7 May, and draw to a close on Thursday.
In September 2020, at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Forum, the African Union Commission (AUC) issued a call to create a soil initiative for Africa as an ambitious long-term effort to systematically improve the health and productivity of Africa’s soils.
In a framework document, the AUC stated that improved soil condition will be achieved by scaling proven and locally adapted technologies, including balanced and efficient (inorganic and organic) fertiliser application to improve productivity for all farmers. It added that, in many cases, greenhouse gases will be sequestered by putting in place policies, programmes and institutional structures needed to improve and maintain soil fertility across Africa into the future.
The summit aspires to bring together an array of stakeholders, including policymakers, scientists, representatives of farmer organisations, non-governmental organisations, scholars, private-sector entities, civil society organisations and the media.
Critical role
In a press statement, the AUC highlighted that the primary objective of the event is to emphasise the critical role of fertiliser and soil health in driving sustainable, pro-poor productivity growth within African agriculture.
This is because Africa’s agricultural productivity has been severely constrained for decades by widespread land and soil degradation, which continues to this day, it said.
The continent’s soils have suffered a loss of organic matter and fertility and a negative nutrient balance, while water and wind erosion, soil acidification, loss of soil biodiversity, soil salinity, soil pollution and overgrazing pose both challenges and opportunities for member states, the statement read.
When the AFSH summit draws to a close later this week, a 10-year action plan is expected to be endorsed, outlining tangible recommendations for actions to be taken by African leaders and stakeholders over the next decade.
This is critical to improve and sustain soil health if the goals, aspirations and priorities of African agendas (Agenda 2063, Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme, Malabo Declaration, etc.) are to be achieved, the AUC said.
In September 2020, at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Forum, the African Union Commission (AUC) issued a call to create a soil initiative for Africa as an ambitious long-term effort to systematically improve the health and productivity of Africa’s soils.
In a framework document, the AUC stated that improved soil condition will be achieved by scaling proven and locally adapted technologies, including balanced and efficient (inorganic and organic) fertiliser application to improve productivity for all farmers. It added that, in many cases, greenhouse gases will be sequestered by putting in place policies, programmes and institutional structures needed to improve and maintain soil fertility across Africa into the future.
The summit aspires to bring together an array of stakeholders, including policymakers, scientists, representatives of farmer organisations, non-governmental organisations, scholars, private-sector entities, civil society organisations and the media.
Critical role
In a press statement, the AUC highlighted that the primary objective of the event is to emphasise the critical role of fertiliser and soil health in driving sustainable, pro-poor productivity growth within African agriculture.
This is because Africa’s agricultural productivity has been severely constrained for decades by widespread land and soil degradation, which continues to this day, it said.
The continent’s soils have suffered a loss of organic matter and fertility and a negative nutrient balance, while water and wind erosion, soil acidification, loss of soil biodiversity, soil salinity, soil pollution and overgrazing pose both challenges and opportunities for member states, the statement read.
When the AFSH summit draws to a close later this week, a 10-year action plan is expected to be endorsed, outlining tangible recommendations for actions to be taken by African leaders and stakeholders over the next decade.
This is critical to improve and sustain soil health if the goals, aspirations and priorities of African agendas (Agenda 2063, Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme, Malabo Declaration, etc.) are to be achieved, the AUC said.
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