Africa-Press – Kenya. Farmers have been urged to embrace technologies that make production systems efficient and effective.
“As we feed ourselves, we also leave an environment where our generations can sustain themselves,” Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said.
He said although fertilisers are estimated to contribute more than 30 per cent of the crop yield, this alone cannot sustain increased production.
Mudavadi spoke during the opening of a three-day African Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
He said maize yields have stagnated despite increased fertiliser use.
“We cannot eliminate hunger and poverty if we do not take a sustainable approach to soil health, prudent use of agricultural inputs, environmental conservation and embracing of efficient and effective technologies,” he said.
Mudavadi said in recognition of the need for integrated soil management, the government, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has developed the National Soil Management Policy.
“This policy contains critical directions on sustainable agricultural soil and water management, soil management and environment, technology development, dissemination and utilisation, fertiliser development and investments,” he said.
Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi said in Kenya, only 18 per cent of the land is arable for crop production.
“Moreover, the area under cereals production alone measures 2.7 million hectares or 47 per cent of the total arable land,” he said.
“This puts pressure on the soils in these agricultural areas to produce enough food for both local consumption and export and calls for action not only to utilise these areas, but also do it in a sustainable manner.”
The CS said soil fertility depletion has been cited as the fundamental root cause of declining per capita production arising from continuous mining of soil nutrients and inappropriate farming practices, including use of blanket fertiliser recommendations.
He said traditional approaches towards soil fertility replenishment and low external input due to low availability and high cost of inputs by smallholders have led to land degradation.
The current soil fertility replenishment strategy is based on Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) practices, which advocate the use of both organic and inorganic fertilisers for balanced nutrient fertilisation.
“This arises from the fact that fertilisers are expensive and calls for precise and prescriptive fertiliser recommendations at the farm level, which are based on precise soil testing to ensure increased, sustainable and profitable crop production,” Linturi said.
The event is being hosted by the African Union and participants include Agriculture ministers from more than 50 African countries.
Key area of focus will be the proposed 10-year Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan 2023-2033.
The plan seeks to increase investments in the local manufacturing and distribution of mineral and organic fertilisers, biofertilisers and biostimulants and triple fertiliser use to 54kg/ha in 2033.
However, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), which represents 41 Africa civil society organisations, has expressed skepticism about the proposed approaches, calling for a revision of the action plan.
“Civil society has a pivotal role in the fertiliser and soil health debate, not only by linking actors across the value chain but by challenging narratives that threaten seed diversity and pushing back against the productivist agenda that prioritises yields over nutrition, health, and environmental integrity,” AFSA general coordinator Dr Million Belay said.
He said it is disconcerting that African civil society was not consulted in the planning of the [summit] or in the formulation of its 10-year plan.
“Yet we represent more than 200 million smallholder farmers, pastoralists, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, environmentalists, women, youth groups and agroecological entrepreneurs from across Africa,” he said.
Ferdinand Wafula of Bio Gardening Innovations, Kenya, one of the AFSA affiliates, said there is need to take care of the soils for future generations.
He said soil degradation is increasing in Africa, with more than 20 per cent of land in most countries in the region degraded.
This has affected more than 65 per cent of the population and resulted in significant adverse effects on food production and human livelihoods.
“We urge policymakers, governments and donors to provide more funding to these alternatives, because they mitigate a huge number of issues ranging from nutrition challenges to climate crisis and the escalating prices for commodities,” he said.
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