Improving soil health is key to the future of agriculture – Minister Tumwebaze

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Frank Tumwebaze has called on African countries to address challenges affecting soil fertility.

The minister was addressing participants at the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSH) on May 7, 2024 in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where he represented President Yoweri Museveni.

He noted that addressing these and more challenges to ensure rehabilitation and improvement of soil health will be critical for the future of agriculture, food, feed, nutrition and income security of citizens.

“Importing fertilizers is capital intensive and to break even, large volumes need to be imported. This requires access to affordable finance to facilitate trade. The implication of this is that very few private sector players venture into it. , which leads to low volumes.” Tumwebaze pointed out.

In response to the recommendation of the AU political bodies, the African Union Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Environment (DARBE) has organized the AFSH summit.

The summit will deliberate on the recent and widespread decades-long decline in soil quality of agricultural land in Africa, a phenomenon that continues today and has a negative impact on agricultural production capacity and food security in the continent.

In June 2006, African Union Heads of State and Government endorsed the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers for Africa’s Green Revolution, a continental strategy to reverse the worrying trend of low productivity of African soils.

The Declaration focused on key objectives necessary for agricultural growth, food security and rural development in Africa, focusing on the role of fertilizers. It recommended increasing fertilizer use from 8 kg/(nutrients)/ha to 50 kg (nutrients)/ha in 10 years and the establishment of an African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) with the aim of improving agricultural productivity by providing necessary financing. boost fertilizer use in Africa to achieve the target of 50 kg of nutrients per hectare, as set out in the Abuja Declaration.

Fifteen years after the Abuja Declaration, Africa’s agriculture and food security narrative has evolved significantly. The fertilizer market itself has changed, including the roles played by public and private sector players.

Another important change since Abuja is the greater recognition of the critical role of sustainable land management. Deteriorating soil health has hampered the efficiency of fertilizer use and hampered the growth of agricultural productivity, food security and environmental sustainability across the continent.

As a result, economic growth and well-being (particularly of the rural population, who derive their livelihood directly from agriculture) on the continent has been hampered. It is therefore timely to review the state of Africa’s soil health to recalibrate the strategies being implemented to drive soil productivity towards greater and sustainable gains in crop yields, as well as growth and transformation. economic and general well-being.

The objective of the Summit is to bring together all relevant stakeholders to highlight the crucial role of fertilizers and soil health in stimulating sustainable pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture and agree on an Action Plan African Soil Initiative on Fertilizers and Soil Health, as well as the Soil Initiative for Africa.