Rethinking and revitalizing soil fertility: an urgent need for food sovereignty in West Africa

Exhausted and unproductive soils

In West Africa, the capacity to meet the food needs of a growing population and the region's economic development are threatened by soil depletion. The significant degradation of soil fertility is the result of interconnected factors: rapid population growth has led to the intensification and specialization of agricultural practices and the modification of traditional pastoral routes. Fallow periods, which facilitated beneficial fertility transfers between crops and livestock and could last for decades, have been considerably reduced. This degradation is amplified by several external factors: climate change, limited access to organic matter, inter-ethnic conflicts that disrupt agricultural practices, and the inherent fragility of the region's soils: they contain only 0.5 to 1.5 tons of organic matter, compared to an average of 1.5 to 2.5 tons in Northern Europe, for example. The consequences of this continuous degradation manifest themselves through a chain of negative reactions: a decrease in the concentration of microorganisms in the soil, weakening of the soil structure and progressive depletion of mineral resources.

Three major fertility parameters are affected:

Innovate, train, unite

The FARM Foundation study suggests several possible levers for action to restore soil fertility, combining organo-mineral soil fertilization and agro-ecological practices to ensure the sustainable renewal of West African soils, focusing on both large-scale production (rice, cocoa, cotton) and small producers who contribute significantly to the region's food production:

Fertilizer market: small players… high prices

FARM's work reminds us that the use of fertilizers (NPK = nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) remains low:

15 kg/ha of NPK fertilizer is used in West Africa, compared to an average of 120 kg/ha in the rest of the world and 25 kg/ha across the African continent. While not the only solution for fertilizing land, fertilizers are a crucial component when few agroecological alternatives to phosphorus and potassium are available. This is particularly evident in Africa, which, according to the UN, will be home to a quarter of the world's population within 25 years.

«Faced with the progressive decrease in the availability of essential mineral elements, particularly potassium and phosphate, the application of mineral fertilizers adapted to the soil and plants remains necessary to prevent the depletion of soil reserves. This application, still too low today, is nevertheless contingent on producers» ability to access fertilizers, which are often imported and subsidized, both physically and economically (…) in conjunction with the traditional practices of small-scale producers and a resilient family farming system that has always been in place,” explains Thibaut Soyez, Project Manager at the FARM Foundation.

Despite their large populations, West African countries are now "dwarfs" in the fertilizer market, characterized by concentrated suppliers and the power of highly structured buyers (USA, China, Brazil, India, etc.). They remain heavily dependent on external markets for their supplies and face volatile prices, sensitive to global events, which have indeed seen sharp increases in recent years. This is due to the lack of local potash production, the concentration of nitrogen and phosphate production, and their reliance on a few suppliers.

Focus on fertilizer suppliers and price trends between 2020 and 2022

Note: the supplying countries are not necessarily those that produce the commercial products.

Given the limited agroecological alternatives for phosphorus and potassium inputs, and the growing need for these two fertilizers, the FARM Foundation naturally raises the question of strengthening West Africa's position in the global market. This involves investing in local fertilizer production, particularly by developing regional phosphate reserves and supporting investment in processing facilities.

Increasing intra-regional and continental trade in fertilizers and encouraging cooperation policies between countries to pool resources and optimize distribution could also help reduce dependence and the impacts of geopolitical shocks. Morocco and its partnership policy with several West African actors already play a significant role in this regard.

Mineral fertilizers – nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium – are at the heart of global agricultural productivity. They enabled Northern countries to achieve food abundance, but at the cost of massive consumption of resources that, like phosphorus and potassium, are limited and non-renewable. At a time when the world's population is growing, and food security in the Global South is becoming a global issue, should we consider inequalities in access to fertilizers as a debt owed by the Global North to the Global South, similar to a "carbon" debt?

The FARM Foundation's work on the challenges of soil fertility renewal in West Africa will be available on June 24th through three detailed publications on the Foundation's website. https://fondation-farm.org/publications/

 The FARM Foundation

For 20 years, The Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality in the World (FARM), recognized as a public utility, works to promote sustainable agriculture in the world and in particular in the countries of the South. 

Through its studies, partnerships and awareness campaigns, FARM informs public and private stakeholders about the paths to take for balanced agricultural development that addresses economic, social and environmental issues.

Press contacts

Marie-Laure Hustache: 06 69 25 04 42 – lagencedemarielaure@gmail.com

Vincent Manesse: 06 87 76 76 74 – vince.manesse@gmail.com