President William Ruto yesterday led Africa in a landmark declaration to address persistent challenges in fertiliser use and soil health across the continent during the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit.
The Nairobi Declaration on Soil Health outlines a comprehensive plan for improving agricultural productivity and ensuring sustainable food security in Africa. In his closing address, President Ruto celebrated the declaration as an important step in the continents food security plan.
Its time for urgent action to solve the climate-health crisis Man behind sale of fake fertiliser freed on Sh5m bondThe Nairobi Declaration endorses the Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan and the Soil Initiative for Africa Framework as key guiding documents. These documents aim to harness multi-stakeholder partnerships and investments to drive policies, finance, research and development, markets, and capacity building for fertiliser and sustainable soil health management in Africa, he said.
The declaration outlines a bold plan to reverse soil degradation, increase fertiliser use, and ultimately enhance food security across the continent.
Despite growth since 2006, fertiliser consumption remains far below the target set in the Abuja Declaration and less than half the global average. This, together with declining soil health, have hampered agricultural productivity and contributed to food insecurity.
Kenya said while it also faces challenges with degraded soils and low fertiliser use, it has raised use, which has resulted in improved yields.
A year ago, our agricultural production, primarily maize, was about 40 million bags. With the use of fertiliser in the last one-and-a-half years, adequate, crop-specific fertiliser that we use technology-based e-voucher to distribute, we have increased our production of maize from 40 million bags to 67 million bags in one season just because of the correct use of fertiliser, President Ruto said.
But Namibia President Nangolo Mbumba cautioned: Fertiliser can help address nutrient deficiencies in African soils, increasing crop yields and improving food security. However, it is important to note that while fertilisers have played a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity, their indiscriminate use can also have negative environmental consequences. He was among the six African Heads of State who attended the summit in Nairobi.
In the 21-point declaration, leaders committed to developing training programs, strengthening regional research networks and promoting knowledge sharing across countries. Additionally, the declaration seeks to foster public-private partnerships to enhance investments in the fertiliser value chain.
We are very keen to partner with others on the continent to address the root causes of low productivity in agriculture, hunger and food insecurity. In fact, by being here, we are tackling one of the key pillars of the high inflation that drives and deepens poverty in Africa, said Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera.
The deteriorating soil quality presents an urgent and pressing challenge in a continent where agriculture is a lifeline for millions. Over the past few decades, soil quality in many regions of Africa has declined due to factors such as unsustainable farming practices, deforestation and climate change. This alarming trend threatens food security and economic stability as farmers face reduced yields.
Poor soil health continues to undermine sustainable agricultural production and productivity, particularly among our communal and smallholder farmers. Climate change compounds this, hence the need to deliberately support investments in agriculture, particularly for women and youth, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe said.
In Kenya, only about 20 per cent of the land is considered arable, and deteriorating soil health is a real threat to food security.
The Agriculture ministry reports that at least 13 per cent of the land has acidic soil. But this problem is not unique to Kenya; across Africa, 65 per cent of agricultural land is degraded as soil acidity increases due to the overuse of fertilisers.
Kenyas productive lands, or food basket zones as we call them, are concentrated around the south of the Rift Valley, western Kenya, small parts of the North Rift, and parts of central Kenya. But if you look at the soil acidity maps, you'll notice that these same productive areas are the most acidic. The acidifying fertilisers farmers use, such as DAP and CAN, are
