The Special Summit, convened by the African Union  and hosted by the Government of Kenya, in collaboration with African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Partners and christened “Listen to the land” could not have been more timely. It was held at a time when the world and indeed Africa is witnessing  an unprecedented food crisis.   Recent estimates indicate that nearly 282 million people in Africa  were undernourished in 2022, an increase of 57 million people since the COVID 19 pandemic. A greater proportion of the population in Africa faces hunger compared to the other regions of the world – nearly 20 per cent compared with 8.5 per cent in Asia, 7.0 per cent in Oceania, and 6.5 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

More than a billion people are unable to afford a healthy diet. Around 30 percent of children are stunted because of malnutrition. Africa remains off-track to meet the food security and nutrition targets of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and the Malabo targets of ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2025. Transforming the agricultural sector, especially input supply such as fertilizer usage, irrigation and mechanisation is thus an urgent imperative if the continent is going to feed its 2.5 billion population by 2030 with healthy and balance diets and also become the food basket of the world.

The summit served as a strong reminder that Africa should accelerate the implementation of the targets set in the 2006 Abuja Declaration, which aimed to achieve an average fertiliser application rate of 50 kilograms per hectare by 2015. We applaud the fact that at least 10 countries have met or exceeded this target. Their success will serve as best case examples and lessons learned for others. However, it remains concerning that nearly half of the continent still averages below 10 kilograms per hectare. Even more so the fact that 70% of the fertiliser produced in Africa is not utilised within the continent, leaving many farmers to rely on imported fertiliser, which are either expensive or are not readily accessible.

Consequently, African farmers find themselves tilling degraded soils, resulting in dismal and low crop yields including a cereal output that averages 1.65 tons per hectare in 2022, far below the global average of 4 tons per hectare.

Amidst declining soil health, plummeting yields, unsustainable land expansion, and overall environmental degradation, African farmers have resorted to expanding agricultural land. This is in a bid to counter land degradation, which currently affects nearly 46% of the continent’s land area, translating into USD 9.5 billion annual costs.

The African Union deemed it imperative to convene the AFSH Summit. The primary objectives were to reiterate commitment to the 2006 Abuja Declaration targets and to establish soil health as a fundamental aspect of productivity and sustainability moving forward.

Additionally, the conference addressed strategies to accelerate intra-African trade, especially for locally-produced fertilisers, and boost Africa’s trading position in the global marketplace. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was reinforced in this regard as an engine of growth and sustainable development that could double intra-Africa trade and strengthen Africa’s common voice in global trade negotiations.

These aspirations were encapsulated in the Nairobi Declaration, endorsed by 33 African governments. Additionally, a 10-year Action Plan for Fertilizer and Soil Health, along with its funding mechanism (Africa Fertilizer Funding Mechanism - AFFM), administered by the African Development Bank Group, was established to boost the use of fertilisers and enhancing agricultural productivity across the continent through innovative financing solutions to support the increase in fertiliser usage in the short-term.

Thankfully, the continent is not starting from scratch and already has mechanisms in place to ramp up local fertiliser production and enhance other actions and investments aimed at transforming the continent’s soil health.

Additionally, the implementation of the 10-year action will be monitored through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Biennial Review Mechanism on mutual accountability on results and actions. Its implementation will not only contribute to addressing soil degradation, but also to the Malabo Declaration Commitment 5 on “Enhancing Resilience of Livelihoods and Production Systems to Climate Variability and other related risks”  as well as building sustainable soil health, accelerating inclusive agricultural transformation with access to inputs, and ending hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

The Nairobi Declaration saw African leaders making seven crucial pledges, with a promise to actualize them within the next decade:

1. Triple domestic production and distribution of organic and inorganic fertilisers by 2033 to enhance accessibility and affordability for smallholder farmers.
2. Provide targeted agronomic recommendations to at least 70% of smallholder farmers by 2033, ensuring greater efficiency and more sustainable fertiliser use.
3. Restore soil health on at least 30% of degraded soil by 2033, reversing land degradation.
4. Fully operationalize the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) to streamline the production, procurement, and distribution of fertilisers, and soil health interventions.
5. Develop and implement policies and regulations conducive to fertiliser and soil health interventions.
6. Promote national capacity building for locally relevant fertiliser and soil health management practices and technologies.
7. Ensure at least 70% of smallholder farmers have access to quality extension and advisory services on fertiliser and soil health.

These commitments represent the yardstick against which Africa's farmers will measure their leaders' accountability.

Meanwhile, the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA) Framework was endorsed as a guide for the long-term enhancement of Africa's soil health across agricultural sectors to boost productivity, water availability, and resilience to climate change. The SIA Framework seeks to transform smallholder farms into profitable ventures, promote sustainable soil management, and foster technology transfer, aligning with the  African Union Aspiration 1 of Agenda 2063  to build a  prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development,  ending poverty and radically transforming African agriculture to enable the continent to feed itself and be a major player as a net food exporter; exploiting the vast potential of Africa’s blue/ocean economy; and finally putting in place measures to sustainably manage the continent’s rich Soils, biodiversity, forests, land and waters and using mainly adaptive measures to address climate change risks”

In conclusion, it is important to note that the intensive engagement witnessed in Nairobi during the AFSH24 confirms a resolve to build on the progress that African countries have made so far in restoring their soil health, with the AFSH taking it a step further by fostering a holistic approach for the sustainability of proposed actions.  

The African Union has embarked on the development of the Post-Malabo 10-year agenda will come into force after the two decades of CAADP implementation, that has seen the continent make massive progress in economic and agricultural growth, improvement in poverty and nutrition outcomes, expansion of agricultural trade, and public investments in agriculture. The post-Malabo agenda development roadmap was officially launched on 8th March 2024, cognizant of the fact that the Malabo Declaration is set to expire by 2025, thus the urgent need to develop a robust, evidence-based post-Malabo CAADP agenda that is Africa-led and inclusive.

The 10-year post-Malabo action plan will outline targets and actions for Africa’s Agriculture transformation and investments to ensure development of sustainable agri-food systems on the continent. This process is premised on strong stakeholder consultations, inclusivity and evidence-based data, used to shape the strategic direction that will drive agri-food systems transformation on the continent for the next 10 years.

The African Union is thus, mobilizing Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), partners and all CAADP stakeholders to collectively join hands in developing a robust CAADP Agenda on Africa’s Agriculture transformation to succeed the 2014-2025 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.

The writer is the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) of the African Union Commission