Drop outdated fertiliser policies that further degrade Africa’s soils

A proposed action plan by the African Union (AU) that aims to significantly increase investments in domestic manufacturing of fertilisers and triple their use over the next 10 years is a recipe for disaster.

This outdated, synthetic fertiliser-focused approach will further debase already degraded soils, undermine food security and harm public health and the environment.

The AU and the Kenyan Government will host a summit on fertilisers and soil health in Nairobi from 7-9 May, 2024. The AU’s Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan for 2023-2033 claims it will “stimulate sustainable pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture”.

However, the plan marginalises truly sustainable approaches like agroecology in favour of increasing use of imported synthetic fertilisers.

The plan also fails to consider other perspectives. Civil society groups, such as those coalescing around the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), for instance, need to be involved in the fertiliser and soil health debate. They offer perspectives that challenge narratives that threaten seed diversity, and they push back against the current agenda of putting yields above public health and the environment.

Studies have shown that over 20 percent of agricultural land in most African countries is already degraded, affecting over 65 percent of the population and resulting in significant adverse effects on food production and livelihoods. The soils have lost critical organic matter and nutrients, with some areas so depleted the soil is capped like concrete.

The solution is not more of the same thing – synthetic fertilisers – that have ruined our soils. Rather than continuing dependency on imported fertilisers, AFSA and its members – who represent more than 200 million people from across Africa, including smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and women’s and youth groups – are championing a shift to agroecological farming methods that combine indigenous knowledge with modern scientific innovations.

Agroecology focuses on restoring biodiversity, conserving water, building healthy soils and increasing resilience to climate change.

Policymakers, governments and donors should provide more funding to these agroecological options, because they address malnutrition, climate change and the drain of expensive fertilisers.

While the AU’s commitment to reversing soil degradation and addressing hunger, malnutrition and poverty is commendable, its plan will exacerbate economic strains by increasing dependency on expensive imported fertilisers, enriching a handful of fertiliser companies while African farmers face soaring costs.

The writer is the National Coordinator of Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya.