African Heads of State and Government concluded the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit by endorsing the Nairobi Declaration on Fertilizer and Soil Health, showcasing their commitment to restoring the continent’s soil nutritional balance.

The Nairobi Declaration highlighted key discussions among African leaders, emphasizing the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships and investments to drive policies, finance, research and development, markets, and capacity building for fertilizer and sustainable soil health management across Africa.

Thirteen notable commitments were made:

1. Triple domestic production and distribution of certified quality organic and inorganic fertilizers by 2034 to improve access and affordability for smallholder farmers.
2. Provide at least 70% of smallholder farmers with targeted agronomic recommendations for specific crops, soils, and climatic conditions by 2034 to ensure greater efficiency and sustainable use of fertilizers.
3. Support efforts of natural gas-producing Member States in fertilizer production to ensure availability at stable prices.
4. Fully operationalize the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) to enhance production, procurement, and distribution of organic and inorganic fertilizers and soil health interventions.
5. The AU Commission to mobilize financial and technical resources to execute the commitments in collaboration with existing climate funds.
6. Formulate and implement policies and regulations to create a conducive environment for fertilizer and soil health interventions.
7. Develop and promote national capacity-building for locally relevant fertilizer and soil health management practices and technologies.
8. Promote African solidarity through knowledge sharing, training, development, and transfer programs for best practices in soil fertility and soil health.
9. Ensure that at least 70% of smallholder farmers have access to quality extension and advisory services on fertilizer and soil health from both public and private extension systems.
10. Integrate the recommendations in the Declaration into National Agricultural Investment Plans for implementation.
11. Ministers of Finance to mobilize and allocate adequate resources for implementing the recommendations in the Declaration.

The declaration outlined specific actions to achieve the envisioned outcomes.

Additionally, the AFSH Summit endorsed a 10-year Action Plan for Fertilizer and Soil Health, the Africa Financing Mechanism (AFFM) for the Action Plan, and the Soil Initiative for Africa framework, representing ambitious long-term efforts to systematically enhance the health and productivity of Africa’s soils.

The Summit, held from May 7-9, 2024, was convened under the theme “Listen to the Land.” Participants explored the current condition of Africa’s soils to implement urgent and appropriate restorative measures. The event gathered over 4,000 participants, including 57 ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, other government leaders, scientists, private sector representatives, heads of development organizations, civil society leaders, and leaders of farmer organizations, who engaged in discussions, partnerships, and commitments aimed at rapidly restoring the nutritional value of the continent’s agricultural soils.

Throughout the three-day summit, it was emphasized that years of excessive use without adequate replenishment had resulted in severe depletion of the continent’s soils, hampering their capacity to sustain optimal crop yields. Due to decades of continuous soil nutrient mining and the age of the soils, Africa’s soils, among the oldest globally, have become the poorest in the world. It is estimated that the continent loses over US$4 billion worth of soil nutrients each year, severely risking Africa’s ability to feed itself. Yet, a broad base of African farmers neither has access to fertilizers nor can they afford the inputs needed to rejuvenate their soils to reverse the downward spiral of environmental degradation.