This Article was originally posted by the P.D by this link:
https://www.pd.co.ke/news/linturi-to-speak-at-fertilizer-summit-232611/
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is among the high-profile speakers who will deliver summonses at the 2024 Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit.
The summit will be held in Nairobi from May 7-9, and Linturi, whose fate as CS now lies with a National Assembly committee after he was impeached by Members of Parliament, will be a key speaker.
The summit, organised by the African Union, will be held to deliberate on Africa’s recent widespread, decades-long decline in the soil quality of farmland.
The summit has been held for over a decade now since the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union endorsed the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the Africa Green Revolution in 2006.
This is a continental strategy to reverse the worrying trend of poor productivity in African soils. The declaration’s key targets are agricultural growth, food security, and rural development in Africa, with a focus on the role of fertilizers.
According to the AU, fifteen years after the Abuja Declaration, Africa’s agriculture and food security narrative have evolved significantly.
“The fertilizer market itself has changed, including the roles that private and public sector actors are playing. Another major change since Abuja is the increased recognition of the critical role of sustainable soil management.
“The decline in soil health has hindered the efficiency of fertilizer use and hampered agricultural productivity growth, food security, and environmental sustainability across the continent,” a statement by the 2024 summit organizers said.