Poor policies hinder fertiliser access
August 19, 2015 in National, News
REGIONAL farming experts have cited lack of political will by most African governments as a major stumbling block to improve agricultural productivity and boost food security through use of fertilisers in line with the Abuja declaration on the African Green Revolution.
By Phyllis Mbanje
Speaking during a recent meeting in South Africa which was organised by the African Fertiliser and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), partners agreed that African governments needed to invest more in agro dealer development to improve fertiliser distribution particularly under the government subsidy programmes.
The AFAP regional director for East and Southern Africa Maria Wanzala also highlighted factors constraining increased use of fertiliser such as outdated or nonexistent fertiliser laws and regulatory frameworks.
“Issues impacting growth of fertiliser use include weak enforcement mechanisms which consequently lead to poor fertiliser quality control, weak agro-dealer networks, lack of initiatives to provide financial services to importers and agro-dealers, poor port, rail and road infrastructure and unsustainable, poorly planned and co-ordinated subsidy programmes,” said Wanzala.
African governments were urged to urgently put policies and infrastructure in place to ensure increased fertiliser access
In June 2006, the African Union Special Summit of the Heads of State and Government adopted the 12-Resolution “Abuja Declaration on Fertiliser for the African Green Revolution”. One of the resolutions focused on increasing fertiliser use in sub-Saharan Africa from an average 8kg then, to 50kg per hectare by 2015.
Currently, the region utilises an average 12kg of fertiliser per hectare, according to The International Fertiliser Industry Association.
The meeting also discussed progress made by African countries to ensure that Africa has a Green Revolution. It recommended the setting up of a secretariat to monitor progress on and push for achievement of the resolutions set out in the Declaration.
According to 2012 World Bank figures some of the countries with the highest increase in fertiliser use in sub-Saharan Africa are Ethiopia whose fertiliser use per hectare increased from 11kg per hectare to 24kg; Ghana from 20kg per hectare to 35kg; Kenya from 33kg to 44kg. However, consumption in other countries which include Zimbabwe has decreased.
Low-income regions are highly dependent on imported fertiliser and international import prices still represent a large fraction of the final price paid by farmers