The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and the African Union Commission have convened a Soil Health Monitoring Task Force to design and operationalize a systematic, scientifically sound monitoring system aligned with the CAADP Biennial Review (BR) process. 

Ahead of the CAADP Partnership Platform (CAADP PP), which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 29-31 October 2025, AGRA supported the convening of the Task Team meeting on 27 and 28 October. The validation meeting provided a platform for the Task Force to present its work on building a soil health monitoring system in support of the AFSH Action Plan, including identifying key indicators and a relevant soil health definition. Members of the Task Force and the broader AFSH stakeholder group attended and provided feedback through several participatory workshop sessions.

CA4SH’s Webinar Series was held over three sessions in the lead-up to the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit to address key challenges currently constraining farmers to implement healthy soil practices. The first two sessions were held under the topics of bringing soil health into policy and financing healthy soil practices. This third session focused on the science and knowledge needed to generate actionable data for soil health monitoring and scaling up, informing and tracking soil health practices on the ground whilst addressing key barriers.

With increasing droughts, initiatives to restore soil and manage water resources effectively are a necessity to ensure food security, but the clock is ticking, and they must be accompanied by investments in farmers.

By Aggrey Agumya, Sekai Mudonhi for Devex