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Role Of Data In Implementing The Abuja Declaration On Fertilizer

BY Soko Directory Team · November 17, 2022 08:11 pm

The African Union Special Summit of the Heads of State and Government convened and adopted a 12-Resolution framework dubbed the “Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution. It sought to guide sub-Saharan African countries on measures to take to improve soil health and revolutionize farming by increasing sustainable fertilizer use.

Sixteen years later, Africa still struggles to actualize the declarations made in Abuja. Given the strategic importance of fertilizer in achieving the African Green Revolution to end hunger, the Abuja Declaration resolved to increase the use of fertilizer from 8 kilograms per hectare to an average of at least 50 kilograms of nutrients per hectare by 2015. However, this is yet to become a reality.

According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization titled Boosting Africa’s Soil, nutrient consumption per ha is still relatively low, with most countries falling far below the target of 50kg/ha. The 3rd CAADP report published this year indicates that only 5 out of the 55 African Member states have met this threshold.

The second goal was to take concrete measures to specifically address the fertilizer needs of farmers, especially women, and to develop and strengthen the capacity of the youth, farmers’ associations, civil society organizations, and the private sector. Unfortunately, to date, farmers have limited knowledge about sustainable input use.

Another main declaration would be improving farmers’ access to fertilizer by granting targeted subsidies in favor of the fertilizer sector, with the support of Africa’s Development Partners, with special attention given to poor farmers. To this end, significant investments have continued to be made for the value-added utilization of mineral deposits and natural gas on the continent. This would help Africa address issues to do with fertilizer availability and use.

Whether or not the Abuja resolutions would work is not in doubt. What demands our attention is the slow progress made over the years and whether there is a need for a paradigm shift in the way we look at food security, soil health, and the use of fertilizers in Africa.

Data is increasingly becoming the world’s greatest commodity. However, the many and oftentimes disjointed information outlets make it difficult and expensive to locate one’s data needs. This does not work well for the African farmer and works against achieving the targets set out in the Abuja declaration. To curb this, a centralized platform that enables farmers to access such vital information is needed.

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and its partners are looking to launch and rebrand AfricaFertilizer.Org. This portal aims to fill critical fertilizer information gaps, increase data-driven policy and investment decisions in the fertilizer sector, and develop comprehensive, user-centered fertilizer information systems. The goal is to support all stakeholders along the fertilizer value chain to respond efficiently and effectively to changes in the fertilizer market, ensuring that sufficient quantities and appropriate fertilizers reach farmers at the right time for planting.

As Africa seeks to develop its transformational agenda around fertilizers and soil health, data is going to be the key driver in enabling strategic decisions toward the Green revolution Agenda for Africa.

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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