Experiences and challenges of sustainable management of

African soilMartial Bernoux

Natural Resources Officer, FAO

Global Soil Partnership

African soil• Diverse soil ranging from stony and shallow with

poor life sustaining capabilities to deeply weathered soils that recycle and support large amounts of biomass• Inherently poor fertility • Inappropriate land use, poor management and lack

of inputs have led to a decline in productivity, soil erosion, salinization, and loss of vegetation • Soil is the main resource supporting the population

and a key asset for poor individuals

African soil• Agriculture accounts for 30–40 % of the region’s

GDP and employs 65–70 % of the labor force • Smallholder farms (2 hectares or less) account for

about 80 % of all the farms in the region, and they often include degraded land • Almost 2/3 of arable land is degraded Yield

reduction in Africa due to past soil erosion may range from 2 to 40%, with a mean loss of 8.2% for the continent.

Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report

• “Baseline” to track the status of the world’s soils• Revised version envisaged for 2020• Global Soil Information System

Minimize further degradation of soils, restore productivity and ESS of

degraded soils

Main Soil degradation Types

1. Soil erosion2. Changes in soil organic carbon3. Nutrient imbalance4. Loss of soil biodiversity5. Soil acidification6. Waterlogging7. Compaction8. Soil sealing and land take9. Soil pollution

Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report, 2015

Africa’s priorities• Address soil degradation as a factor of food security.• Implement sustainable soil management with focus

on soil health/fertility.• Develop, update and disseminate harmonized

regional soil information.• Establish linkages and networks for soil information.• Address climate change and build resilience.• Capacity building and development in all the soil

related applications.

AfSP Implementation Plan• Developed to address priorities• 5-year work plan per Pillar• Inclusive and collaborative process• Pillar Working Groups, Steering

Committee• Completed Apr 2016

Boosting Africa’s Soils• FAO Africa Regional Conference 2016

• Side event on High Level Discussion

for follow-up on the 2006 Abuja

Declaration “From fertilizers to

sustainable soil management”.

Decisions from the Side Event

1. Discuss outcomes of a comprehensive review of successes, lessons learned, challenges and new opportunities to feed

into post-2015 strategies, which will be carried out and disseminated by relevant interest partners

2. Update the 2006 Abuja Declaration by widening it to exploit its link with sustainable soil management and

propose strategies to be in place in Africa by 2030 in line with the SDGs and Malabo Implementation Strategy and

Road Map.

Proposed that a high level meeting be convened by interested partners to:

Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil

Management• Accepted by last 2016 COAG • Submitted for endorsement by FAO

Council• Objectives:• Present generally accepted principles to

promote SSM• Calls for fostering and strengthening

targeted soil research

• Voluntary

Of the 17 goals, four contain

targets related to soils

Develop a global SOC map by Dec 2017 as baseline

In support of SDG Indicator 15.3.1

Through support and involvement of FAO member countries

Key activities for 2017 • Regional capacity building:

• Digital Soil Mapping• Soil Doctors Programme

• Development of national SOC maps• Development of national soil information systems in

various countries (Lesotho, Togo, Sudan) for monitoring purposes • High Level Meeting on follow-up to 2006 Abuja

Declaration on Fertilizers for an African Green Revolution • Global Symposium on SOC 21-23 March 2017• Implementation of the VGSSM

Thank you