The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Government of Norway have joined forces to launch a transformative partnership aimed at enhancing soil health for sustainable food systems across Africa. The partnership marks a significant milestone in addressing the pressing issue of soil health on the continent.

This ambitious 3-year Programme is designed to support AU member States in implementing the resolutions of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit, currently convened in Nairobi, Kenya from 7-9 May. The initiative aims to leverage policy, practice, and research to effectively manage soil health and advance agricultural sustainability in Africa.

Ms. Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, Director of Agriculture, Food Security, and Environmental Sustainability at AUDA-NEPAD, emphasized the importance of the partnership in facilitating the domestication of the summit resolutions by AU Member States. She expressed gratitude to the Government of Norway for its unwavering commitment to the African Agenda and, longstanding partnership with AUDA-NEPAD.

On behalf of Norway, the Minister of International Development, Honorable. Anne Beathe Tvinnereim underscored the significance of the partnership in implementing summit outcomes. Highlighting Norway's chairmanship of the Development Partners Coordination Group, the Minister emphasized the importance of projects yielding tangible results. “The partnership with AUDA-NEPAD is deemed critical in achieving meaningful impact on the ground, particularly in optimizing data and information for active monitoring and evaluation of policies and farming practices' impact on soil health”, said the Minister

The launch, held on the margins of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit, aligns with the summit's focus on investing in healthy soils for healthy diets, healthy people, and a healthy planet. Against the backdrop of a worsening climate crisis, the importance of healthy soils in increasing productivity, enhancing resilience, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions cannot be overstated.

Monitoring soil health is paramount to tracking progress and ensuring accountability to summit commitments. As Lisinge-Fotabong emphasized, sustained support and innovative approaches are imperative for the long-term investment in soil health restoration, despite the few immediate benefits.

AUDA-NEPAD and Norway look forward to realizing the transformative potential of their partnership in advancing soil health and sustainable food systems across Africa.

Note for Editors:

About AUDA-NEPAD:

African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) is the development agency of the African Union mandated by Assembly of Heads of State and Government to coordinate and execute priority regional and continental projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063. The mandate of AUDA-NEPAD is to: a) Coordinate and Execute priority regional and continental projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063; and b) Strengthen capacity of African Union Member States and regional bodies, advance knowledge-based advisory support, undertake the full range of resource mobilisation and serve as the continent’s technical interface with all Africa’s development stakeholders and development partners.

About Norway:

Norway has supported African countries for more than 60 years. In addition to the support to AUDA-NEPAD, Norway supports efforts in improving soil health through the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM), FAO, research institutions such as the CGIAR institutions and national research institutions aswell as development of digital tools for data sharing of soil health. Norway is part of the Global Fertilizer Challenge and strive to align our efforts with other donors.

Norad - the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - is a professional body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and is managing the grant with AUDA-NEPAD on behalf of Norway.

Contacts:

Technical Contact

Dr Manyewu Mutamba, Senior Programme Officer- Food Security, AUDA-NEPAD. Email: ManyewuM@nepad.org

Ms Ingvild Langhus, Senior Advisor, Asta.Ingvild.Langhus@norad.no

Media:

Millicent Kgeledi: Communication and Advocacy Unit, AUDA-NEPAD. Email: MillicentS@nepad.org

Helene Sandbu Ryen: Communications Department, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Helene.Sandbu.Ryeng@mfa.no