By Checky Abuje
Subsaharan Africa is estimated to record an annual soil nutrient loss worth up to USD 4 billion. This is according to the latest findings by a pan-African organisation Biovision Africa Trust(BvAT) in collaboration with the Regional Multi-Actor Network (RMRN)
Addressing soil experts, journalists and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector during a webinar on Agroecological practices for soil health improvement in Africa, Biovision Africa Trust Managing Director David Amudavi (Phd) revealed that 65percent of Arable Land in Subsaharan Africa is degraded with soil nutrients rapidly being depleted and soil health deteriorating to the disadvantage of food security across the continent.
“This scenario of degraded arable land in Sub-Saharan Africa and by extension Africa, is costing the region dearly to restore the lost soil nutrients annually” remarked Amudavi.
The findings further disclose that Africa’s population is poised to increase 2.5 times y 2050 and this will triple cereal demand which now puts soil health in Africa at a critical point in ensuring food security as well as regional sustainable development.
Soil health is the capacity of soils to provide a sink for carbon that plays a great role in the global carbon cycle, regulation of soil health and productivity and mitigating climate change impacts on the environment and acts as a reservoir for storing essential nutrients for sustainable ecosystem productivity where the health of the soil is responsible for the provision of food, shelter, fibre and a life-sustaining climate.
“For Sub-Saharan Africa to experience sustainable and resilient agrifood systems needed for food and nutrition security and improved livelihoods and supporting inclusive economic development, soil health is the foundation” said Amudavi.
However, some of the Agroecological interventions towards Soil health for sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa include Agroforestry to spur a sustainable land management approach that includes tree and crop cultivation practices.
Others are regenerative agriculture that involves holistic farming approaches that improve soil health, and organic Agriculture to promote natural inputs, soil fertility and biodiversity.
Sustainable agriculture, permaculture, conservation agriculture, biodynamic and biointensive agriculture as well as natural farming and family planning are among the interventions of the findings.
Gaps in addressing soil health in Africa still exist, calling for experts, farmers, and policymakers to adopt sustainable food production mechanisms that go beyond dependence on chemical fertilizers and promote Agroecological practices that produce food in harmony with nature supported by policy and strategy alignment to calvinise various actors and agencies for more inclusive and sustainable outcomes.