“In accordance with the High Directions of HM the King, the Kingdom of Morocco once again expresses its commitment to sharing its experiences and international expertise in fertilizers and soil health with sister African countries, in order to improve the productivity and sustainability of soils and thus ensure the food security of the continent,” Mr. Sadiki underlined in a speech at the preparatory ministerial meeting for the African Summit on Fertilizers and Soil Health, scheduled for Thursday in the Kenyan capital.
Aware of the direct impact and the close link between fertilizers and soil health on the one hand and food security on the other, Morocco places this subject among the most central both in its national policy and in its national policy. Africa, said the minister who is leading a large delegation to this meeting attended by African Ministers of Agriculture.
“Today, the challenge of our continent is to resolve the complex equation of producing more and better while using less natural resources, namely water and soil,” he stressed, noting that health soil is the cornerstone of food security, sustainable development and resilience to changing climate challenges.
In this regard, the minister noted that African soils are seriously vulnerable to the various pressures they are subject to, due to human activities and unsustainable agricultural and non-agricultural practices, noting that these pressures are increasingly aggravated. by climate change.
Soils are not given enough emphasis in African agricultural development plans, he regretted, explaining that scientific evidence demonstrates that meticulous management of soil fertility can potentially increase food production by almost 58 %.
According to him, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals depends on a combination of sustainable agricultural practices and intelligent use of fertilizers on our soils.
To this end, Mr. Sadiki noted that to strengthen soil health, two fundamental paths are required, namely the management of soil fertility and rational fertilization based on evidence.
For the minister, these two paths constitute essential pillars for improving the productivity of small and medium-sized producers and ensuring the longevity of production systems.
“Therefore, we need a global understanding of soils and their fertility to optimize fertilizer inputs at the territorial, local and plot levels,” he said, noting that Morocco has followed proactively policies aimed at understanding, managing and conserving soils holistically.
This concerted effort resulted in the successful mapping of soil fertility across all its agricultural lands, serving as a basis for agricultural development initiatives, the minister explained, noting that “the valuable soil fertility data facilitated the development of personalized fertilizer formulations, complemented by digitized soil fertility maps, which strengthen localized agricultural advisory services.
Through South-South cooperation in Africa, which was placed by HM the King at the top of foreign policy priorities, Morocco constantly and actively leads initiatives to share, notably through the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP ), its experiences, its expertise and its best practices, underlining its commitment to the collective progress of the continent, said Mr. Sadiki.
The “Generation Green 2020-2030” strategy places soil health at the top of the priority list, given its central role in ensuring sustainable productivity, by establishing the foundations for eco-efficient agriculture, through continued investments in agricultural water management and soil conservation practices and technologies, he continued.
In this regard, he indicated that four priority areas have been identified to meet the challenges of climate change, namely management and control of irrigation water, conservation agriculture, climate-resilient cropping systems. and collaborative research actions.
The current context requires a more inclusive and comprehensive initiative to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of Africa’s food systems, he argued, emphasizing the need for a solid governance framework supported by scientific coherence and strategic partnerships. The objective is to make soil health an essential strategic element of the sustainable development program of the African continent.
In this regard, the minister affirmed Morocco’s firm support for the Soil Initiative for Africa, as well as for the Action Plan which should be adopted under the terms of this summit.
The preparatory ministerial meeting opened this work on Tuesday, as a prelude to the African Summit on Fertilizers and Soil Health organized by the AU and the Kenyan government, and which will bring together African heads of state, senior government officials, private sector actors and representatives of civil society organizations.
The Summit will provide a comprehensive review of the state of soil health in Africa and propose solutions to readjust the strategies deployed to boost soil productivity, for higher and more sustainable yields, at the service of the African citizen .
2024-10-03 00:56:24