CA4SH at AGRF 2023: Revitalizing Africa’s food systems requires collective action and a clear vision for soil health
The following images in this story are courtesy of John Kameka
Africa’s food systems are undergoing large-scale transformation, manifesting at various stages in various contexts, but with all efforts working toward the common goals of food security and sustainable ecosystems. During the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF), members of the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) had the opportunity to join the conversation and contribute to shaping the soil health discussion.
Bringing together stakeholders representing the private sector, NGOs, academia, governments and more, CA4SH contributed to three events at the AGRF between 4th and 5th September to discuss what scaling soil health looks like, and the vision for Africa’s soils we are working steadily towards.
Pre-AGRF side event: Defining Africa’s Fertilizer and Soil Health Vision Part I
“The challenges facing the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa are intricately linked to soil health with soil erosion as a major culprit of poor soil health,” said Hon. Hussein Mohamed Bashe, Minister of Agriculture, Tanzania during the Pre-AGRF side event in the Youth Dome on 4th September. Addressing these crises, however, offers an opportunity to rethink our current agricultural systems and rebuild them from the soil up.
“Soil is a unifier, it is an entry point to achieving the SDGs, mitigating and adapting to climate change as well as contributing to ecosystem restoration and biodiversity targets. Therefore, we need to scale soil health, globally,” said Dr Leigh Ann Winowiecki (CA4SH cofounder and CIFOR-ICRAF Soil and Land Health Lead) at the AGRF last week. “We all have a responsibility to ensure that soil is not overlooked.”
Leigh Winowiecki
The event was divided into two parts, beginning with high-level panel moderated by Michael Sudarkasa, CEO of the Africa Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), with the following panellists:
Dr. Tilahun Amede, Head of Resilience, Climate and Soil Fertility, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Mwatima Juma, Chairperson, Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement
Professor Sieglinde Snapp, Director of Sustainable Agrifood Systems Program, CIMMYT
Geoffrey Kirenga, CEO, Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania Ltd.
Jason Scarpone, Director, Sustainability, International Raw Materials
Dr. Leigh-Ann Winowiecki, Global Research Leader, Soil and Land Health, CIFOR-ICRAF/ Co-lead, Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)
Panel for Session 1 of the Pre-AGRF event on 4th September in the Youth Dome
Mwatima Juma
Dr. Sieglinde Snapp of CIMMYT highlighted the three Ms: “ 1. Markets for innovation (in mechanization, in manure), 2. More farmer agency, and 3. Mobile information.” Mwatima Juma, Rural Development Specialist, Managing a permaculture commercial organic farm in Zanzibar, said that we must look at root causes of soil degradation and find locally appropriate solutions”.
The second half of the Pre-Event was the “ask an expert session”. With key experts including Innocensia John of the University of Dar es Salaam, Henk van Duijn, of IFDC, Bernard Vanlauwe of IITA and Shamie Zingore of APNI.
Lisel Wiese-Rozanov, an International Consultant with FARA and CRS highlighted the critical role of governments in the process of building a soil health roadmap and Anthony Kimaro, CIFOR-ICRAF Country Director, highlighted the need for action on the ground to implement soil health solutions, including agroforestry options.
Panel for Session 2 of the Pre-AGRF event on 4th September in the Youth Dome
Plenary: Africa’s Fertilizer and Soil Health Vision
Ahead of the African Union’s Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit coming up in November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, the AGRF came at a critical time for mobilizing stakeholders toward integrated land and soil health management with food systems at the core. "Soil Feeds Us" said Joe Cornelius of the Gates Foundation during the 5th September Plenary organized by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The results of the plenary and the upcoming AFSH Summit will feed into a strategic 10-year action plan for Africa’s soils which will be launched at the Summit itself.
Feeding the continent’s growing population which is set to double by 2050 is a major concern, especially when coupled with increasing impacts from the climate crisis, supply chain disruptions, and widespread land and soil degradation. Tom Kehoe, also from the Gates Foundation, set the scene bringing evidence to bear as a call for action on addressing the land degradation crisis. Dr. Sanginga Nteranya, the previous Director General of IITA, asked the second panel to speak from the heart and deliver messages for future investors, building on lessons learned.
Tom Kehoe of the BMGF delivered the keynote address for the high-level plenary on 5th September
Soil Health plenary panel 5th September 2023
Dr Sanginga Nteranya
Nico Jannssen (IKEA Foundation)
Revitalizing Africa’s soils and the fertilizer sector means investigating the interplay between sustainable farming practices and revolutionising the agricultural landscape. This also means putting farmers first as they are truly on the frontlines of food systems transformation. “Most people don't understand soil health. We need to communicate its science for the farmers to embrace it,” shared Ishmael Sunga (CEO, Sacau Media). Nico Janssen of IKEA Foundation highlighted the need for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge when co-developing soil solutions
Indeed communicating, but also capacitating, as underscored by Leigh Winowiecki whose flagship project, the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF), is a participatory, low-cost, citizen-science approach to measuring and monitoring soil and landscape health.
“We need to not make the same mistakes we have made before. There is a need for massive investments in soil health monitoring and participatory citizen science to fill the key knowledge gaps and to guide investments and track the impact of land management overtime.”
Dina Esposito, Assistant to the Administrator - Resilience and Food Security (RFS) at USAID, Feed the Future Deputy Coordinator for Development, & Global Food Crisis Coordinator showcased cutting-edge action research to fill knowledge gaps in agricultural systems and the need for evidence-based targeting and tracking.
Key next steps include collating lessons learned and bringing them forward for the AFSH Summit, working with stakeholders to collectively develop a vision for building healthy soil ecosystems.
