Fertiliser Shortages Prompt Calls for Agroecology in Africa

More than two months into the US-Israel conflict with Iran, fertiliser exports through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted, according to Al Jazeera. The blockage affects upwards of 20 percent of global fertiliser exports and has also halted shipments of natural gas and sulphur used in fertiliser production elsewhere.

International agencies have expressed concern over the impact on Africa, where hundreds of millions face food shortages and many countries rely on food imports. Some high-level officials at development banks have called for urgent actions to secure more fertilisers for African countries.

During the 2008 global food crisis, development banks and African governments supported programmes that transferred large areas of land to agribusiness companies and subsidised chemical fertilisers. Several of these projects failed, leaving communities with lasting damage, while subsidised fertiliser schemes often failed to increase fertiliser use or reduce hunger.

Malawi spent heavily on fertiliser subsidies at the time and later cut its budget for public infrastructure and education. Fertilisers remain more expensive in Africa than in most other regions, with corporations and traders maintaining profit margins of 30-80 percent across the continent.

Jazeera reported that farmers' organisations in West and North Africa are advancing agroecological methods that avoid chemical fertilisers. Groups such as Beo-neere, the Convergence des Femmes Rurales pour la Souverainete Alimentaire, and the Nous Sommes la Solution movement support tens of thousands of farmers across several countries.

In Tunisia, the Network for Agroecological Transition and the Tunisian Association of Permaculture promote fertiliser-free food systems, including the "Nourriture Citoyenne" label for produce grown without chemical inputs. A series of studies from the 2000s covering 208 agricultural projects in 52 countries found yield increases of 50-100 percent for staples including cassava, sweet potato, millet, maize and sorghum.

Researchers in Senegal recorded 17 percent higher yields and 36 percent higher incomes for farmers using agroecology compared with conventional methods. In Brazil, the corresponding figures were 49 percent higher yields and 177 percent higher incomes.