The world is facing an unprecedented food crisis, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine, and worsening climate conditions.
But the problem is most acute in Africa, where 61 percent of the population will face moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022. And now, when effective solutions are urgently needed, policymakers are once again rallying around the false belief of increased mineral use. And synthetic fertilizers are the key to increasing agricultural productivity and ending hunger on the continent.
This approach can be traced back to the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers for Africa's Green Revolution, endorsed by African Union leaders in 2006. The goal was to reverse the continent's low yields by increasing fertilizer use from 8 kilograms per hectare to 50 kilograms per hectare within 10 years. Spearheading this effort was AGRA, the African Green Revolution Alliance, an initiative supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other major donors. AGRA championed the idea that Africa's agricultural challenges could be solved by working closely with major agribusinesses such as Norway-based chemical company Yara and distributing synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.
However, this singular focus on the use of synthetic fertilizers fails to address the complex realities of African agriculture. A recent evaluation of AGRA's projects in Burkina Faso and Ghana found no evidence that providing chemical inputs and high-yielding seeds leads to increased yields and incomes for smallholder farmers.
Instead, many have become more vulnerable and in debt, having become dependent on expensive synthetic pesticides and fertilizers whose prices have soared following the Russian invasion. These farmers are trapped in a cycle of dependence while companies like Yara make huge profits.
Zambia is a good example. Despite being one of Africa's largest consumers of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, the country has not experienced commensurate reductions in hunger and malnutrition. The view that more fertilizer will reduce hunger fails to address systemic barriers to food security, such as affordability, and exacerbates existing challenges such as soil degradation.
Specifically, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers disrupt the delicate balance of soil ecosystems, the very foundation of sustainable agriculture. These inputs have been shown to reduce the abundance and diversity of beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi that are essential for nutrient cycling and plant health. When these symbiotic relationships are disrupted, soil resilience and fertility decrease. According to the World Bank, it is estimated that Africa is already losing around 3% of its GDP annually due to nutrient depletion and general soil degradation.
In addition to damaging crop productivity and devastating the livelihoods and food security of millions of smallholder farmers, excessive fertilizer use also has far-reaching effects on the environment. It contributes to nitrogen pollution of water bodies, causes loss of biodiversity in aquatic systems, and pushes the planet beyond safe limits for humans. Perhaps most concerning is the finding that the production and use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers accounts for approximately 2% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
As a result, chemical companies like Yara are switching to “green fertilizers” produced using hydrogen from renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuel-based inputs. This allows them to continue advocating for the use of synthetic fertilizers as a solution to Africa's food insecurity, and in turn maintain and expand the market for their products, despite studies pointing out the shortcomings of such an approach. can.
Indeed, using green hydrogen to produce fertilizer can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, while the manufacturing process may not be carbon intensive, it is still very energy intensive. Applying fertilizers also releases large amounts of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, which can cause soil degradation and water pollution, regardless of how it is produced. By promoting “green fertilizers” as a panacea, the industry engages in greenwashing to protect its own profits under the guise of sustainability.
The AU's African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi will tackle soil degradation and food insecurity. The involvement of industry giants like Yara and organizations like AGRA suggests they continue to cling to a flawed model that consistently fails to reduce hunger and malnutrition, and this The African Food Sovereignty Alliance, which represents over 100 million stakeholders, also shares a common concern.
But instead of focusing on improving soil fertility in the short term, substituting one chemical for another, and supporting the fertilizer industry's self-serving narrative, the Summit aims to improve soil health and soil longevity. , long-term goals such as soil enrichment should be considered. Ensuring the resilience of rural communities and the sustainability of food systems.
Productivity can be maintained without the use of industrial nitrogen fertilizers, as shown in long-term trials across Africa. Alternatives include diversifying cropping systems, producing organic fertilizers and growing legumes. Policy makers and stakeholders need to move beyond the simple promotion of even synthetic fertilizers labeled as “green” and adopt a more transparent and evidence-based approach . Only then can we truly tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition in Africa and around the world.
Silke Bollmohr, founder of EcoTrac Consulting, is a senior policy advisor for global food policy and agriculture at INKOTA netzwerk. Harun Warui is the project leader of the Pathways to Food initiative at the Heinrich Böll Foundation office in Nairobi. © Project Syndicate 2024www.project-syndicate.org