Resilient Agriculture on the African Continent: The Proof will be in the Soil

Resilient Agriculture on the African Continent: The Proof will be in the Soil E-PAPER Policy Paper Resilient Agriculture on the African Conti- nent: The Proof will be in the Soil Recommendations on fossil fuel- based and «green» fertilizer pro- duction and use in Africa A publication edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, May 2024 Resilient Agriculture on the African Continent: The Proof will be. [...] Recommendations for Strengthening Soil Health on the Continent 10 Introduction The adoption of the African Union's 10-year African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSHAP) is an important step in fostering more resilient and sustainable ecological and economic systems on the continent. [...] The life cycle of nitrogen fertilizer production accounts for more than 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.[7] This is due to the energy intensive Haber-Bosch process; the methane emissions associated with extracting, processing, and transporting the fossil gas that is the primary feedstock for fertilizer production; as well as the emission of nitrous oxide during and after application. [...] Zambia, for example, has the highest fertilizer use in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a five-year average of 65 kilograms per hectare,[14] and is one of the six African countries with the highest per-hectare yields for cereals.[15] Nevertheless, Zambia ranks at the bottom of the 2022 Global Hunger Index and malnutrition is consid- ered a major problem in the country.[16] The industrial cultivation of ma. [...] Resilient Agriculture on the African Continent: The Proof will be in the Soil 10/ 13 A visual representation of the continent's path towards soil health: The foundations of a sustainable agricultural system are the methods at the base of the pyramid, while methods higher up should be limited or phased out completely.