fThe challenges posed by declining soil fertility present substantial issues for many African countries, including Nigeria, especially in the light of the continent’s anticipated population growth. With an estimated 2.5 billion people expected to inhabit Africa by 2050, there will be a substantial increase in food consumption, placing further strain on the continent’s already burdened agricultural systems. In response to these pressing challenges, campaigns and initiatives geared towards enhancing soil fertility, advocating for sustainable agricultural practices and mitigating the impacts of environmental factors are gaining momentum.
At the launch and commemoration of the 14th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) Commemoration and 19th Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform held in Zambia last year, Mrs Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, the Director of Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability at the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD), underscored the imperative to accelerate intra-regional food trade, enhance food security, and stimulate economic growth across the continent.
Mrs Lisinge-Fotabong stressed the importance of promoting the cultivation and consumption of locally-sourced foods as a means to address hunger and malnutrition in Africa. However, she acknowledged that nutrition and food security remain precarious due to various vulnerabilities in the continent, including climate change-induced shocks, ongoing conflicts, and fluctuations in global food prices, among other factors. Given that a significant portion of Africans rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, agriculture stands as the primary industry on the continent. However, the recent population surge and dwindling arable land availability have exerted significant pressure on soils, highlighting the critical need to maintain soil fertility to mitigate the risk of food insecurity.
Mrs. Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director of Agriculture, Food Security and Environmental Sustainability, African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD)
Over time, Africa has witnessed a decline in soil fertility, with notable implications for regions like Nigeria. Communities grappling with degraded soils face heightened vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, including droughts and floods, exacerbating challenges in adaptation and resilience. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS), and the Soil Science Society of Nigeria have all underscored the imperative of addressing soil degradation within the country. These groups have emphasized the critical need to preserve soil fertility and health, given that soils serve as the foundation of food production and are increasingly stressed by climate change and human activities.
According to FAO data, approximately 33 per cent of Nigeria’s agricultural areas have already been impacted by soil deterioration, stemming from compaction, acidification, salinization, erosion, loss of organic carbon and biodiversity, and nutrient imbalances. Analysts warn that the declining fertility of arable fields, particularly in key production regions, poses an imminent threat to the agricultural sector if left unaddressed. In response, ongoing campaigns seek to encourage farmers to adopt best practices for long-term soil enrichment. The dwindling fertility of land, especially in the northern region, poses a severe threat to the country’s food security. To mitigate soil deterioration, organizations such as the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) are actively assisting farmers in the North, aiming to bolster soil health and agricultural productivity.
The remarkable story of Abdulmumini Adamu serves as a testament to the transformative power of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) among Nigerian smallholder farmers. Through the adoption of limited tillage and other sustainable farming practices, Adamu not only significantly increased his crop yields but also managed to reduce his labour expenses. Under the guidance of the Sasakawa Africa Association’s (SAA) comprehensive training programme,
Adamu successfully implemented techniques such as low tillage, mulching, crop rotation, and composting. These practices not only resulted in an astounding 85 per cent reduction in labour costs but also led to a remarkable 50 per cent increase in crop yields. Such remarkable gains can be attributed to the improved soil health and enhanced moisture retention facilitated by the application of ISFM and CA methods.
The work of Dr. Shamie Zingore, Director of Research and Development at the Morocco-based African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges confronting smallholder farmers across Africa. With an estimated 33 million smallholder farmers facing obstacles such as low productivity and limited access to modern agricultural techniques, Dr. Zingore’s research assumes paramount importance in enhancing soil health, boosting crop yields, and ultimately, improving human nutrition. Through innovative research initiatives, Dr. Zingore and his team are instrumental in advancing agricultural practices that promote sustainability and prosperity among smallholder farmers across the continent.
Dr. Shamie Zingore, Director of Research, APNI
According to him, low fertility in the natural environment and inadequate soil conservation efforts have left sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with some of the world’s worst soils. He pointed out that the continent’s ability to feed itself is being seriously undermined by the annual loss of soil nutrients valued at over $4 billion. He said to properly solve the problems of food security in Africa, soil and nutrient management technologies need to strike a balance between boosting crop output and improving soil fertility. APNI, where he works is pursing 4R Nutrient Stewardship initiative. The 4R Nutrient Stewardship initiative is a framework for guiding nutrient management practices in agriculture. It emphasizes applying the right source of nutrients, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. For him, addressing growing soil fertility challenges is indeed crucial for sustainable agriculture and food security, especially in Africa s where smallholder farmers rely heavily on the productivity of their land. He noted: “We are at a very important time for African agriculture as the continent faces a myriad of challenges linked to unsustainable agriculture including chronically low agricultural productivity and human malnutrition, which is estimated to be seriously impacting at least 20per cent of the African population.”
One of the significant challenges that Africa faces is ensuring food security of a growing population. Recognising the critical role fertilizer and soil health has in tackling the problem, the African Union (AU) is launching a 10-year Action Plan demonstrates a long-term commitment to addressing these challenges and investing in sustainable agricultural practices. Under the aegis of its Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (#AFSH) Summit, AU is convening heads of states, ministers, and agricultural development partners in Africa this May 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya to launch a 10-year Action Plan for associated investments. Launching the Action Plan demonstrates Africa’s commitment to finding local solutions to local challenges.
He noted: “Building on the 10-Year Action Plan, AFSH will identify the key critical areas for investment into policy and market investments but also into the critical technologies for sustainable plant nutrition and soil health management on the continent. These targets will be necessarily underpinned by accelerated support for building research and extension capacity to ensure knowledge generation is both relevant and practical for Africa’s farmers and translated into scalable solutions for sustained improvement of agricultural productivity across Africa.”
In his role as the Acting Director of Research and Innovation at the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr. Wole Fatunbi plays a pivotal role in driving research and innovation initiatives aimed at addressing the pressing issue of soil fertility decline. His advocacy for soil fertility protection and the promotion of best land use practices are indispensable for fostering sustainable agriculture, particularly in Africa where countless livelihoods hinge on farming. Dr. Fatunbi leads efforts to deepen public understanding of soil health, championing sustainable farming methods that preserve soil fertility and advocating for policy frameworks that prioritize soil conservation projects. His multifaceted responsibilities include conducting pioneering studies to unravel the complexities of soil dynamics, promoting knowledge exchange among stakeholders, and influencing policy decisions to integrate soil health considerations into agricultural strategies.
Prof. Wole Fatunbi, Ag. Director of Research of FARA at the Africa Fertilizer and Soil and Health Summit #AFSH24
Recognising the urgency posed by Africa’s burgeoning population and the mounting pressures on its agricultural systems, Dr. Fatunbi emphasises the imperative of collaborative action. He stresses the importance of forging partnerships between farmers, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to implement effective strategies for sustaining soil health. Through his leadership and advocacy, Dr. Fatunbi is instrumental in shaping a more resilient and productive agricultural landscape across the African continent.
According to Fatunbi, soil salinization is becoming an increasingly serious issue in Africa. He noted. “This is becoming a reality in Africa where the proportion of soil with high salt content is gradually approaching a critical threshold that requires considerable effort. Africa is reported to possess 60 per cent of the remaining arable land globally. Arable land implies a land lot with complementary properties suitable for crop cultivation and livestock rearing. immobilised in the soil colloids due to the presence of higher concentrations of other nutrients.”
Without land, agriculture is not possible. The importance of soil resources for current and future generations therefore no longer needs to be demonstrated. This is why several projects and programs are dedicated to it with a view to optimal and sustainable land management. “The Declare project aims to set up a decision support tool to enable stakeholders to make appropriate decisions with a view to improving the resilience of their production systems,” said Prof. Rodrigue Diogo, Coordinator of Declare. During these two days of the workshop which brought together different actors from the agricultural world and livestock systems, the discussions were very interesting and resulted in more concrete visions to be able to continue to optimize actions in favoring sustainable land management. To do this, “The question of innovative solutions was debated. Among the solutions that I think we must be able to find is to link research to training. It is essential to link research to training to continue training the next generation,” insisted the Vice-Rector in charge of scientific research at the UP, Prof. Mohamed Nasser Baco in his opening speech. “Sustainable land management should contribute to food security, agriculture, forestry and environmental protection. », indicated the Dean of the Fa Prof. Valérien Amégnikin ZINSOU.
During these two days of discussions, several communications were presented. In particular on the INTERFACES and DeClaRe projects respectively by Doctors David Anaafo and Kisito Gandji from the Competence Center of the West African Center for Scientific Services on climate change and adapted land use (WASCAL) in Burkina Faso; on the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) by Benjamin Abugri from FARA, Ghana; and on the theory of change by Doctor Peter Asare-Nuamah of the University of Bonn in Germany. After the opening ceremony and the various communications, space was given to participants for discussions on the project’s theory of change.
Participants contributed through exchanges to co-develop with researchers from the INTERFACES and DeClaRe projects the theory of change that will enable the project’s results to be effectively achieved. “The theory of change is a tool that allows us to better understand the needs of target communities, to describe the change we want to bring as well as the activities to carry out. » informed Dr. Gandji. Through the various works and exchanges, the participants better described the change to be made in sustainable land management in northern Benin, with a proposal for the activities to be carried out to achieve this. DeClaRe aims to reduce conflicts between farmers and breeders, adapt SLM to climate change and promote ecological agriculture in the face of climate change with a view to improving food security. The same actors will be invited to the Parakou campus next year for a workshop to disseminate the first results of the project.
A consortium of three German research and implementation-oriented projects has begun developing a blueprint for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) covering all its dimensions regarding ecological, economic, and social aspects, especially gender equity. In Northern Ghana, two workshops were held at the Tamale campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS) from November 15 to 23, 2023.
Participants during the INTERFACES, COINS and DECLARE projects meetings at the UDS Campus in Tamale, Ghana
Group Picture of stakeholders during the first meeting
The projects aim to address long-standing challenges within the sector on land use and ownership by strengthening the weak interaction between Science, Policy, and Practice. These initial workshops sought to establish a participatory learning platform for joint learning and exchange and develop a gender-responsive theory of change for sustainable land management. As an accompanying project, INTERFACES will focus on supporting the social dimensions of SLM, especially gender of the COINS and DecLaRe projects, which are being rolled out in the Northern and Savannah Regions as well as in other parts of Benin and Senegal.
First Two-Day Workshop With The COINS And DECLARE Projects at UDS Campus, Tamale
In her introductory remarks, the Project Lead of INTERFACES and Senior Scientist at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) University of Bonn, Dr. Tina Beuchelt, highlighted the need to enhance the fusion of research, policymakers and implementers. Acknowledging the historically low adoption rates, the INTERFACES team initiated a workshop to develop a Gender Responsive Theory of Change for Sustainable Land Management and establish a Participatory Learning Platform to strengthen adoption.
Dr. Tina Beuchelt, Project Lead of INTERFACES and Senior Scientist at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) University of Bonn.
This collaborative approach will strengthen the implementation of research results and contribute to developing effective land management strategies.
“That’s why we thought we must engage with you, the local stakeholders who are the key experts in this area. She added, “Start discussions, learn about your experience, exchange our experiences, and get your feedback”.
Envisioning sustainable land management, Dr. Peter Asare-Nuamah, a Senior Researcher of the INTERFACES project, described it as empowering farmers to optimise land use, enhancing crop yields, generating social benefits for women and men, increasing income, and conserving the environment without causing pollution or degradation.
Dr. Peter Asare-Nuamah, Senior Researcher, INTERFACES, ZEF, University of Bonn
To achieve this goal, INTERFACES aims to incorporate various stakeholders’ diverse perspectives and priorities in an inclusive approach, ensuring that everyone has a meaningful role to play in shaping a sustainable future for land management. This becomes a vehicle to achieve sustainable land management. Dr. David Anaafo, a Senior Researcher with WASCAL, describes this as being “timeless, taking into consideration the needs of our present and future generations”.
Dr. David Anaafo, Senior Researcher, WASCAL and INTERFACES
On the part of FARA, Mr. Benjamin Abugri, the Knowledge Management and Communications Specialist, highlighted the role and commitment of its organisation in ensuring that the projects’ results are mainstreamed and sustained within its knowledge services and tools for the more significant learning benefit for not just the project beneficiary countries but the entire African continent.
Mr. Benjamin Abugri, Knowledge Management, Learning and Communications Cluster Leader & INTERFACES Project Coordinator at FARA
Stakeholders highlighted conflict, urbanisation, weak legal frameworks, climate change and soil degradation, unregistered lands, changing land tenure systems and difficulties for women to access land, labour, and inputs, among others, as some of the critical areas affecting sustainable land management.
From the left, the ‘Women’ Chief of Zabzugu Traditional Area, Yelzoli Gaa-Naa, Hawawu A Salifu, in the middle, Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Gukpegu (Tamale) and Kpalung Zobogu Naa, Mohamed Rashad Abdulai and INTERFACES Project Lead Dr. Tina Beuchelt
Role of Traditional Authorities
The workshop explored options for actualising a fair distribution of land among men and women in the Northern region, as currently, according to participants at the workshop, women are highly disadvantaged in accessing land. Their main access is via their husbands, and they often only get small pieces of land to farm and the most marginal, least fertile plot. Increasing land scarcity, the pressure of investors, and the lack of documentation were identified as a few of the many issues, drivers and barriers to enable SLM. Present at the meeting was the Secretary to the Paramount Chief of Gukpegu (Tamale), who doubles as the Kpalung Zobogu Naa, Mohamed Rashad Abdulai.
Additionally, the ‘Women’ Chief of Zabzugu Traditional Area, who doubles as the Yelzoli Gaa-Naa, Hawawu A Salifu, was in attendance.
The Kpalung Zobogu Naa, Mohamed Rashad Abdulai, drawing reference from his position as the Secretary of one of the largest land secretariats in the Northern region, said “when you come to the data, there are multiple women having acres of land, so what it means is that you don’t need to carry your husband to the chief. Just meet with the elders who will lead you to the chief, and you’ll be granted access”.
On adopting the proposed approaches, he stated, “let’s start with the communication. When we are going to communicate, we must communicate in a cordial manner that will make people listen to us. Still, if we radicalise it, it won’t move a centimetre”. Yelzoli Gaa-Naa, Hawawu A. Salifu called for increased education to lease land instead of selling it, noting that in the near future “it will be difficult for natives to have land for farming”.
Promoting gender-responsive sustainable land management is essential as Dr. Constance Akurugu, a Senior Lecturer at the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, believes that within the Northern region, “women are often seen as soon to leave members of their natal families, and when they finally arrive in the marital family they are often seen as, strangers and all closely tied to this or within the context of this women rarely have ownership to productive land.”
Therefore, with a call on traditional leaders and stakeholders to overcome the barriers, policymakers must “take initiatives that will lead to entering into a memorandum of understanding with landowners, heads of families and chiefs to ensure that once an agreement is entered into for women to have access to land, they can have access to the land to use for the period” she added.
Abdul Mateen Alhassan, a former Northern Regional Focal Person for the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, bemoaned farmers’ difficulty accessing funding and described the workshop as timely.
Some of the participants at the stakeholders INTERFACES, COINS and DECLARE meeting in Tamale
He explained that “even though land is not a problem in the Northern Region, financial institutions always demand a guarantee, but the fact that people are not registered with lands as their own and to say it is a borrowed one sometimes institutions find it difficult to understand and accept it as a collateral to grant farmers fund”.
Alhaji Alhassan, a farmer in Tolon explaining the practice of Integrated Soil Fertility Management at his farm to researchers of the INTERFACES, COINS and DECLARE projects
Field Visits to Tolon (Northern Region) and Busunu (Savannah Region)
CSIR-SARI’s Integrated Soil Fertility Management Intervention in Tolon District, also working with COINS living lab intervention
The first field visit on November 17 to the northwestern part of the Northern Region showcased the success rate of the Integrated Soil Fertility Management Intervention on Alhaji Alhassan’s farm who Agrometeorologist at CSIR-Savannah Agricultural Research Institute, Dr. Alhassan Lansah Abdulai describes as an “early adopter who integrated soil fertility management; and crop rotation as an integral part of their farming”.
Beginning in 2011, Dr. Abdulai applauded his consistency, noting that “he is a serious soybean, maise, sorghum and groundnut farmer who has practised crop rotation to the latter”.
Alhassan recounted that with old farm practices, they “used to suffer a lot in order to get more yields to feed our families, but with the new technologies, we put in less effort to get more yields.”
Testifying about the impact of research and extension officers, “What we get from 1 acre is equivalent to what we used to get from about 10 acres under the old system. For instance, I thought I had cultivated one acre for 2023 with my sorghum, but it was a little over one acre when we used the GPS. Despite losing about 2 bags of sorghum to post-harvest losses, I’ve got 13 bags of the 100 kg bag, but under the old system, you could cultivate large acreage and get only 6 bags. It has reduced our drudgery and cost of farming.”
For knowledge transfer among farmers, Dr. Abdulai highlights a farmer exchange program “so during the season, we will bring the other farmers here and send the other people there so that they will offer farmer-to-farmer advice”.
Farmers and Researchers discussing the outcome of the application of the microdosing innovation at a farm at Busunu in the Savanna Region of Ghana
Exploring a DecLaRe’s Project intervention and Greenhouse Farm in Busunu in the Savanna Region of Ghana
A field visit to the neighbouring Savanna Region on November 19 made a first stop at a greenhouse farm called Sadevco Gh in Busunu. The Farm Manager, Frederick Tetteh Pechi-Anim, welcomed and shared its vegetable production techniques of “different variety of vegetables; beefsteak tomato, cherry tomato, bell pepper, hot pepper, lettuce and Mediterranean cucumbers.”
Sharing some challenges in selling its produce, Mr Pechi-Anim explained that potential customers misinterpreted their farm as a GMO producer and were hesitant to patronise it. Due to cultural and other informational gaps, GMOs are still not accepted in northern
Ghana and not promoted by the government of Ghana. However, public sensitisation at the individual level helped to integrate the market while recording a higher sale to expatriates who visit the region or farm.
Field Coordinator for DecLaRe Project in Busunu, Dr. Deogratias Kofi Agbotui, showed the team the DecLaRe weather station positioned in Sadevco Ltd for its research. The device comprises a rain gauge and a temperature and light intensity gauge. He explained that the device helps in prediction modelling, and the data is shared with SADEVCO Ltd.
Dr. Deogratias Kofi Agbotui, Field Coordinator, DECLARE Project (right) and Mr Pechi-Anim, Manager of the SADEVCO Farm at Busunu in the Savanna Region of Ghana
The team continued to Yussif Bofoji Tanko’s farm, testing the micro-dosing interventions promoted by the DecLaRe Project. Mr. Tanko cultivates maise, ground nuts, cashews, bambara beans and rarely cassava. Recounting the importance of the intervention, he explained that the crops yielded better than those not under the experiment. Since this is his first year and he just harvested, he has yet to provide actual figures of yield difference. He lamented the cattle invasion on their farms and irregular rainfall pattern on the maise production, stating that “this year the rains were too much, which destroyed crops, and we also didn’t apply fertiliser”.
Later, the team visited another farmer, Ms. Zainab, who resides in Busunu. As a female farmer, she got her land from a share of her husband’s land solely for agriculture. She confirmed earlier submissions at the workshop that women face many challenges when farming. Her husband allocated six acres of land, which she used: “three acres for corn and three acres for okra. “I had four bags of maise and a bag of okra, and I am happy about the outcome of my harvest. This year, I’m done and waiting for the next planting season, whether I will get land or not.”
Second Two-Day Workshop on COINS and DECLARE Innovations
The second phase of the workshop was held on 22nd and 23rd November at UDS Tamale Campus to assess and forecast the economic, social and environmental impact of innovations by COINS and DECLARE in the Northern and Savannah Regions of Ghana.
Employing the ‘Decision Analysis Approach’, Dorcas Sanginga Alame, a PhD candidate pursuing Horticultural Science at the University of Bonn, says participant feedback helps to “forecast the impact of specific innovations of the regional project which INTERFACES is targeting in Northern Ghana”.
Miss Alame explained that the COINS project focuses on developing “sustainable intensification [solutions] by increasing productivity without taking up new lands” and works with Integrated Soil Fertility Management as one of the suggested innovations. The DECLARE project harbours two innovations, thus ‘micro-dosing to “increase productivity”.
For effective participation, participants first exchanged their ideas with their table neighbours, where men and women were grouped separately, and then experiences and ideas were consolidated. The women’s and men’s perspectives complemented each other. The discussions reviewed the benefits, costs, risks/barriers, challenges, and enabling factors for the selected innovations.
Perceived benefits of the COINS Integrated Soil Fertility Management
Among the list of its benefits labelled were increased crop yield, food security, improved income, economic empowerment, low cost of production, high income, high and sustainable productivity, marketability of products, etc.
An officer at the Northern Regional Women in Agricultural Development Directorate, Salatu Abubakar, reiterating the impact of one farming season in the North, posited that when a woman can reduce the cost of production coupled with an increase in yield then “as a woman with a small parcel of land you can get more income and you can leverage on other levels of income generation activities”.
An officer at the Northern Regional Department of Gender, Ms Bushira, highlighted the role of women in the agricultural value chain; hence, an increase in yield will mean that women who don’t farm “will like to take those yields to do processing so, in that case, it is also creating jobs for them, and they are also being economically empowered together with those who will market those products.”
Additionally, it was discussed that increased yield doesn’t necessarily translate to higher income, citing the paradox of bumper harvest where “everyone harvests and the price comes down at the end of the day you might not get higher income”.
Dr Theodore Asimeng, Senior Researcher at the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the INTERFACES Project facilitating a session on ISFM during the workshop
Hence, other factors, such as price regulation and improved road networks, amongst others, should be considered. In the workshop, intense, longer discussions and exchanges followed on associated costs, risks and enabling factors. Again, the problem of access to land and the challenges women face in agriculture in adopting new practices emerged. One key aspect related to cultural norms and practices that disadvantage and marginalise women in agriculture, in addition to gender-based violence as a means to control women and their farm activities.
The Microdosing Approach of the DECLARE Project
The general concept of microdosing is to reduce the application of fertilisers by exactly placing fertiliser close to the plants. While some microdosing variants propose applying wall fertilisation in that form, the DECLARE variant only applies a microdose at the beginning of the season to young plants to give them a good start. While recognising the importance of the micro-dosing intervention, the workshop participants called for the intervention to be contextualised within the current farming systems and practices of farmers in the project communities, which is essential to aid in acceptance and adoption.
Conclusion
Stakeholders underscored the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach to achieving food security, maintaining ecological integrity, ensuring equitable access to resources and productive lands, and implementing effective conflict resolution mechanisms. While pointing out many benefits of agricultural innovations, the many challenges attached to successfully implementing innovations and achieving higher yields, especially under climate change, became very clear.
Among the propositions for enabling mechanisms were, for example, demonstration plots/training platforms, farmer-to-farmer exchange, availability and timeliness of inputs, bridging finance solutions, sustainable prices and more conducive policies. The recommendations included formulating a comprehensive land-use plan, formalising land tenancy, implementing a land titling system that ensures access to land for women and other marginalised groups, and rigorously enforcing laws and policies. Further suggestions were to work with traditional authorities to change local norms and support activities like introducing the Gender Model Family (GMF) concept, a training programme developed to involve community members and families to live equitably and justly.
These measures, they believed, would create a conducive environment for sustainable land management and address some of the underlying challenges hindering progress in this crucial sector.
Group Picture of stakeholders during the second meeting
About the INTERFACES and the Four Regional Projects
