Which way African agriculture?

Francis Kokutse, in Accra, Ghana  

Francis Kokutse is a journalist based in Accra and writes for Associated Press (AP), University World News, as well as Science and Development.Net. He was a Staff Writer of African Concord and Africa Economic Digest in London, UK.

It is becoming worrisome that the argument for and against the use of inorganic fertiliser is raging across the African continent with some calling for more of its use  to increase food production, with others against it. Those who are not in favour are using recent studies that claim the increasing use of these fertilisers is contributing to the degradation of soil.

According to Guiding Acid Soil Management Investments in Africa (GAIA), 15 percent of all agricultural soils on the continent are affected by acidity issues. Soil acidity causes land degradation. In addition, it decreases the availability of plant and essential nutrients, increases the impact of toxic elements, and decreases plant production and water use, which eventually affects essential soil biological functions such as nitrogen fixation. Consequently, it makes the soil more vulnerable to soil structure decline and erosion.

To reverse the degradation of the soil, African leaders  have responded with a commitment to restore soil health on at least 30 percent of degraded soil by 2033. They have also adopted a 10-year action plan to increase investments in the local production and distribution of both organic and inorganic fertilisers, ensuring that they reach 70 percent of small-holder farmers across the continent.

Sadly, the mention of inorganic fertiliser didn’t go down well with some delegates at this month’s  Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSH) in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting, organised by the African Union also saw the reassertion of the  2006 Abuja declaration, to triple fertiliser use in Africa to reach the ambition of 50 kilogrammes per hectare of arable land.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said “in  terms of fertiliser use, Africa is below the global average and the target set by African Heads of State and Government in 2006,” adding that, “eighteen years  later, the average fertiliser use rate stands at about 18 kilogrammes, less than half of the target set in 2006. We have a responsibility to learn and apply the lessons on why this gap remains.”

There is a vast disparity in fertiliser use within Africa, which ranges from 0.03 kg/ha in Sudan and 1.04 kg/ha in Somalia to 542.47 kg/ha in Seychelles and 542.57 kg/ha in Egypt, the highest figure recorded by an African country.

Since the Abuja declaration, only 10 countries have met or surpassed the 50 Kg/ha goal. These countries are Morocco 55.29, Eswatini 57.77, Botswana 59.27, Kenya 60.66, Zambia 63.90, Malawi 96.74, South Africa 104.64, Mauritius 186.50, Seychelles 542.47, and Egypt 542.57.

Despite producing around 30 million metric tonnes of mineral fertiliser annually, many African countries still heavily rely on imports, particularly non-phosphate-based fertilisers, leaving them vulnerable to market shocks.

Unfortunately, soil scientists, agricultural experts, activists, and farmer groups have denounced the action plan’s reliance on chemical fertilisers, some even called it “a recipe for disaster.” They said soil health goes beyond the quick fixes provided by chemical fertilisers, as there is the need to think of African  soils holistically.

Bridget Mugambe, programme coordinator, of the  Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), said “soil health goes beyond the quick fixes provided by chemical fertilisers. In fact, chemical fertilisers have extensively damaged our soils in Africa. We need to think of our soils in a more holistic way. The 10-year action plan is an opportunity to head in the right direction with a deliberate move to phase out the use of chemical fertilisers as we enhance bio-fertilisers and other agro-ecological inputs”.

Stephen Muchiri, executive director Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, said inorganic fertilisers were never meant to be the foundation of crop production. “We abandoned good agriculture practices that incorporated agro-ecology, conservation farming and mixed farming and embraced intensive commercially inclined farming, our soils are now poor, acidic, and low in biomass resources, and without life,” he added.

Muchiri said “we  have to embrace farming approaches that will enhance the soil organic carbon and bring life to the soils, we have to embrace cyclic-agriculture practices and combine crop-livestock-agroforestry enterprises.

On her part, Elizabeth Atieno Opolo, Food Campaigner- Greenpeace Africa, said “the 10-year action plan underscores a continued reliance on synthetic solutions that sideline the real needs of Africa, particularly its small-scale farmers.

“We have witnessed projects like these falter without meaningful benefits for years — why then do we persist with approaches that clearly do not work? Meanwhile, multinational corporations reap billions in profits, leaving African farmers grappling with increasing food insecurities,” Opolo said.

She called for attention to be shifted towards investing in local agro-ecological knowledge, promoting community-based initiatives, phasing out synthetic inputs, and implementing policies to protect small-scale farmers, adding that, “these  will ensure a food system that truly serves the African people, promoting true food sovereignty and environmental resilience.”

Alex Awiti, principal scientist, agro-ecology, and policy advisor at CIFOR-ICRAF (Centre for International Forest Research – World Agroforestry), said “it is  now unequivocal that a real African Green revolution has to rely on a strong investment, policy support and innovation to bring organics into play. When you do that, you also raise the demand and application of fertilisers, because farmers start to see the benefit.”

Awiti said Africa is at a momentous junction,  and the policymakers now have to open the door to support innovation in organics, and anybody who wants to invest in food system transformation in Africa has to work down this path.

“Kofi Anan in 2004 said for [the] African green revolution, you need trees, crops, livestock, and water. We forgot that the trees and crops are supposed to bring the organics into the system. Even [with] climate change, the organic fertiliser, biochar, is one of the best storehouses of carbon dioxide. If we combine them with inorganic fertilisers, we can reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture,” he said.

Ferdinand Wafula of Bio Gardening Innovations, Kenya, and a member of The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), said  “Africa is not a monoculture. We want a diversity of diverse crops using ecological methods. Synthetic materials kill microorganisms. If they kill that, we cultivate on dead soil. Dead soil does not give us nutrition.”

Hakim Baliraine, chair of the Eastern and Southern Africa Small scale farmers Forum (ESAFF) said “the  fact that we now have an action plan to improve the health of Africa’s soils is good news. However, the failure to consult farmers – who are key to delivering this plan – means there are significant gaps. How can we triple the use and production of mineral fertiliser when farmers struggle to pay for what they use now?”

Baliraine said “saddling African farmers with more debt and promoting the use of chemical fertilisers that are killing our soils is not the answer. “African leaders and funders need to set a clearer vision for African agriculture. They must empower small-holder farmers to produce more environmentally friendly organic fertiliser and they must support a shift to more sustainable and resilient agro-ecological approaches that will ensure Mother Earth can produce healthy food for generations to come.”

Axel Schmidt, agriculture science and research advisor on soil health, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), said “the Soils  Initiative for Africa, along with the 10-year African Fertiliser  and  Soil Health action plan, represents a pivotal step towards advancing sustainable landscapes and livelihoods.”

“This initiative holds immense potential to spark a continent-wide movement focused on transforming degraded landscapes into socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable regions where communities can thrive,” Schmidt said.

He was of the view that pairing of soil health and fertiliser is a critical combination, as fertiliser alone cannot provide the much-needed benefits to both farmer livelihoods and landscapes. However, turning these national commitments into concrete results at scale hinges on local action. It is critical that nations integrate the steps proposed in the 10-year action plan into their policies and provide support for their execution at the local level.

The trouble now is how Africa can navigate itself out of all these views expressed to find a common ground to increase yields. The people cannot wait in hunger as the arguments go on!

• business a.m. commits to publishing a diversity of views, opinions and comments. It, therefore, welcomes your reaction to this and any of our articles via email: comment@businessamlive.com