NAIROBI, Kenya – Africa’s agricultural sector stands at the brink of a transformative era, propelled by a unified vision for fertilizer accessibility and affordability across the continent.
This rallying call was at the heart of the speech delivered by President William Ruto at the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit in Kenya.
He emphasized a strategic approach centered on common strategies, collective action, joint investment, and logistical collaboration to ensure every arable acre of Africa’s land receives the right type and quantity of fertilizer.
“I stand here to make a strong case for a common strategy, collective action, joint investment, and logistical collaboration to ensure every arable acre of Africa’s land receives the right type and quantity of fertilizer. This transformation will shift our agricultural production from deficit to surplus,” he stressed.
President Ruto pointed to Kenya’s success story, where a bottom-up economic transformation agenda significantly increased food production through accessible and affordable inputs, particularly fertilizer.
“My case is bolstered by direct and irrefutable evidence from Kenya’s investment in food security and agro-industrial productivity under the bottom-up economic transformation agenda. Three years ago, our national food production was low, primarily due to high input costs,” he emphasized.
In just three years, Kenya’s maize production skyrocketed from 30 million to 61 million bags, thanks to leveraging technology and a digital platform that registered over 6 million farmers.
This initiative not only increased cultivated land but also improved yields per acre, marking a tangible difference in agricultural productivity.
The summit’s agenda was set around critical areas such as prioritizing investments in nitrogen fertilizer production facilities, real-time tracking of market trends for timely availability, and sustainable strategies for affordability and accessibility.
It also highlighted the importance of last-mile logistics for distribution and building farmers’ capacities for effective fertilizer use and soil health improvement.
Ruto called for sustainable subsidy programs that support both immediate productivity needs and long-term soil health, emphasizing the need to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area for market access and profitability.
Additionally, Ruto highlighted the importance of integrating research, science, and technology to develop a robust African Soil Information System and support informed decision-making.
“Fundamental to our efforts will be the need to entrench production incentives by leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area to enhance market access and profitability for farmers. Pan-African integration will also provide a basis to harness research, science, and technology to develop a robust African Soil Information System, support a community of soil health experts across various sectors, and enhance research and soil testing facilities to support informed decision-making,” he added.
