• Over 80% of Africa’s agricultural land is degraded, limiting productivity gains.
• Improved crop yields reach only 28% in Africa versus 88% in Asia due to poor soil health.
• Governments and partners target millions of hectares for restoration through integrated soil management initiatives.

Agriculture generates about 25% of Africa’s GDP and employs nearly 60% of the continent’s workforce, according to the African Development Bank. However, soil degradation continues to constrain the sector’s full potential despite decades of progress in production and intra-African trade.

Experts increasingly recognize soil health as a critical lever for sustainable productivity, alongside fertilizers, mechanization, and irrigation. Land degradation continues to undermine livelihoods across the continent and limits long-term agricultural output.

A Longstanding Structural Problem

The World Bank estimates that more than 80% of Africa’s agricultural land suffers from degradation due to biophysical and chemical constraints. Data shows that about 38% of the rural population in sub-Saharan Africa lived on degraded agricultural land in 2010, compared with 32% in 2000, highlighting a worsening trend.

Soil degradation reflects a decline in soil health and a reduced capacity to sustain agricultural production. Both natural and human factors drive this process, including deforestation, overgrazing, and irregular rainfall.

These pressures produce visible effects such as erosion, salinization, declining fertility, reduced vegetation cover, sand encroachment, and groundwater depletion. The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) states that smallholder farmers cannot fully benefit from improved seeds and better agronomic practices under such conditions.

As a result, improved crop varieties deliver yield gains of only 28% in Africa, compared with 88% in Asia.

In a 2023 report, the IFDC highlighted this gap and its implications for food systems. “As a result, and in absolute terms, cereal yields remain extremely low, with averages hovering around 1.45 t/ha, compared to averages of 3.20 t/ha in India and 6.08 t/ha in China, not to mention the low nutritional value of some of the crops produced,” the IFDC said.

African countries committed in the 2006 Abuja Declaration to increase fertilizer use to 50 kilograms per hectare of arable land. However, most countries have not yet achieved this target, and stakeholders now acknowledge that inorganic fertilizers alone cannot deliver sustainable productivity growth.

In a 2021 report, AGRA stated that about 10% to 40% of smallholder fields across various African countries do not respond to inorganic fertilizer applications. Experts note that this vulnerability remains particularly acute in the Sahel’s arid and semi-arid zones, where extreme climatic conditions accelerate land degradation.

“Many smallholder farmers in Nigeria are now farming on land that is no longer sufficiently fertile, with low levels of nutrients and other essential elements, and sometimes on soils with poor water-holding capacity. Today, the key challenge is figuring out how to regenerate and improve soil health and nutrient content, while ensuring that farmers understand the composition of their soils. They need to understand which crops will perform best on a given soil type, and what type of soil amendment or nutrient input is best suited to each soil profile,” Idris Rufus, AGRA country director for Nigeria, told Agence Ecofin on the sidelines of World Soil Day in December 2025.

National and Regional Initiatives Gain Momentum

Several West African countries have advanced national soil health strategies with technical and financial partners. Asseta Diallo, senior specialist in soil health and integrated management at AGRA, said Nigeria has already developed its national soil health roadmap, while Burkina Faso and Mali are advancing similar processes and Senegal has received support.

These efforts aim to translate continental commitments into operational strategies tailored to local conditions.

At the regional level, the Soil Values program represents a major initiative launched in 2024 by AGRA and the IFDC with support from the Dutch government. The program will run from 2024 to 2034 and will operate in four Sahelian countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and northern Nigeria.

Promoters aim to restore and sustainably manage the fertility of 2 million hectares of farmland while strengthening the resilience of 1.5 million farmers, particularly women. The program relies on integrated soil fertility management, which combines the efficient use of mineral fertilizers with improved organic matter management and sound agronomic practices.

“A second major area of focus involves promoting evidence-based soil advisory services. Rather than relying on intuition or generic recommendations, the program leverages digital tools and soil data to generate localized, evidence-based advice for farmers, extension agents, and policymakers,” said Rogito Jeremiah, soil health and climate specialist at AGRA.

Rogito Jeremiah

Beyond West Africa, stakeholders adopted the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSHAP) following the African summit on fertilizers and soil health held in Nairobi in 2024. This 10-year roadmap aims to restore soil fertility, reverse land degradation, improve the efficient use of organic and mineral fertilizers, and support sustainable agricultural transformation.

Persistent Challenges

Despite growing policy frameworks and field initiatives, major obstacles continue to hinder progress in soil health management. Drawing on his experience in Niger, Rogito Jeremiah highlighted economic constraints, particularly the landlocked nature of some Sahelian countries, which increases the cost of mineral and organic fertilizers.

Limited access to essential services, including soil testing and agricultural advisory support, further restricts farmers’ ability to adopt appropriate practices. In addition, fragmented and poorly harmonized data reduces the effectiveness of recommendations.

“Existing data, maps, and recommendations are often scattered across multiple institutions and are not sufficiently harmonized or translated into clear, localized guidance tailored to different types of crops and agroecological zones. This sometimes results in generic recommendations that do not reflect the diversity of soils and production systems in Niger, thereby reducing the effectiveness of investments in soil health,” he added.

“Another key component is building farmers' capacity in best practices for sustainable soil management at the farm level.”

Idris Rufus emphasized the need to strengthen human capacity in rural areas. “Another key aspect of sustainable soil management is building farmers’ capacity to adopt best practices in sustainable soil management at the farm level. To this end, we support the training of extension workers and community advisors, who educate farmers on the practices they need to adopt to preserve their soil in the long term.”

Restoring soil health represents not only an environmental priority but also a strategic necessity for African agriculture. Challenges such as access to healthy food, climate change, and rapid urbanization will continue to increase pressure on food systems.

This article was initially published in French by Stephanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum