As Africa struggles to resist genetically modified organisms from being imposed by America in their agricultural system, there is a challenge between affordability and sustainability.

Most African leaders, including Kenya’s president William Ruto have been coerced into accepting GMOs at the expense of traditional seeds. GMOs forces African farmers to buy seeds from American conglomerates every year thereby endangering food security.

African farmers are left on their own as African leaders are either coerced or bribed to embrace GMOs that will turn the continent into a “plastic” foods to the benefit of the American conglomerate led by Bill Gates.

A webinar organised by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) to flush out issues that are facing African farmers ahead if the African union (AU) and the Government of Kenya that held Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi from May 7 to 9 2024. 

AFSA advocates for a shift towards agro ecology, which integrates local knowledge with scientific innovation to restore biodiversity and build resilient food systems. However, the current plan marginalises these sustainable approaches, misleadingly presenting agro-ecology as supplementary rather than a standalone solution capable of addressing Africa’s food security challenges comprehensively.

The Objective of the Summit was to “bring together all relevant stakeholders to highlight the crucial role of fertilizer and soil health in stimulating sustainable pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture and to agree on a 10-year African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan, as well as the Soils Initiative for Africa.

” The proposed 10-year action plan aims to “significantly increase investments in the local manufacturing and distribution of mineral and organic fertilizers, bio fertilizers and bio stimulants” and to “triple fertilizer uses from 18 kg per hectares in 2020 nutrients to 54 kg per hectares in 2033,” the AFSA report says.

Dr Million Belay, AFSA General Coordinator is popularising the fertilizer and soil health debate in Africa, not only by linking actors across the value chain of multinationals.

However, by challenging narratives that threaten seed diversity and pushing back against the activist agenda that prioritises yields over nutrition, health, and environmental integrity.

“It is disconcerting that African civil society was not consulted in the planning of the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit nor in the formulation of its 10-year plan,” he said.

Once the soil is poisoned, Dr Belay says it takes like three years for the soil to recover and that is why AFSA is advocating for transition to agro-ecology. AFSA expresses reservations about the approaches endorsed in the proposed 10-year Action Plan.

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in Kenya, which contributes 22.4 percent the Gross Domestic Product directly (Economic Survey, 2022).

In addition, the sector accounts for 65 percent of total exports. Importantly, the sector contributes to food and nutrition security for the country’s growing population, with over 80 percent of the 47.7 million Kenyans deriving their livelihoods directly or indirectly from the sector.

It also provides more than 60 percent and 18 percent of employment in the informal and formal sectors respectively.

AFSA acts as a voice for over 200 million stakeholders across Africa, including smallholder farmers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, and agro ecological entrepreneurs.

The AU action plan’s strong emphasis on the extensive use of mineral fertilizers, hybrid seeds, and agrochemicals is seen by AFSA as a continuation of outdated and potentially harmful practices. 

These methods misinterpret the real challenges of soil health and risk exacerbating soil degradation, threatening food security, public health, and crucial seed diversity in Africa.

According to Ferdinand Wafula of Bio Gardening Innovations, said that Kenya and Africa need to take care of our soils for future generations.

‘We borrow land from our children.’ We urge policymakers, governments, and donors to provide more funding to these alternatives because they mitigate a huge number of issues ranging from nutrition challenges to climate crisis and the escalating prices for commodities, “said Mr Wafula.

 He added “Africa is not a monoculture. We want a diversity of diverse crops using ecological methods. Synthetic materials kill microorganisms. If they kill that we cultivate on dead soil. Dead soil does not give us nutrition”.

Soil degradation is increasing in the region, with over 20 per cent of land in most African countries already being degraded, affecting over 65 per cent of the population and resulting in significant adverse effects on food production and human livelihoods. 

Reported yield losses range from moderate (two per cent decline over several decades) to catastrophic levels (more than 50 per cent), depending on crop, soil type, climate, and production systems, with most studies reporting significant losses, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Orgnisation (FAO).

Soils across Africa are seriously depleted. They have lost organic matter and are often bare and sometimes capped like concrete. They are missing the highly diverse microbial life in healthy natural soils. 

There is an urgent need for proactive interventions to arrest and reverse soil degradation. Agricultural lands are especially prone to erosion and nutrient depletion.

While AFSA recognises and commends the AU’s commitment to reversing soil degradation and addressing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, it still holds significant reservations.

“We fundamentally disagree with the vision and strategies outlined, which not only misinterpret the underlying challenges of soil health and fertility but also perpetuate outdated Green Revolution solutions that fail to address—and may exacerbate—the degradation of soil fertility in Africa,” the AFSA report says.

It adds that these approaches risk further endangering food security, deteriorating public health, and depleting our crucial seed diversity, which forms the cornerstone of food sovereignty and resilience.

The 10-year AU Action Plan regrettably misses a critical opportunity for transformative change, bypassing a necessary shift towards agro-ecology—a bold African solution that champions food sovereignty and climate justice.