NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 22— The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has convened the inaugural Steering Committee and Technical Committee meeting of the IGAD Soil Health and Fertilizer Hub in Nairobi in a bid to bolster transforming agriculture and food security in the region .

📻 Breaking It Down

The meeting, which also included a learning visit to a soil health initiative site, marks the start of the operational phase of a regional platform designed to address declining soil fertility, improve access to high-quality fertilizers, and strengthen climate resilience across IGAD member states.

The launch comes two years after African leaders endorsed the Nairobi Declaration on Fertilizer and Soil Health during the 2024 Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit and follows the formal ministerial approval of the Hub by IGAD Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Food Security in Addis Ababa in September 2025.

Principal Secretary for the State Department for Agriculture, Caroline Kundu, said the Hub represents a critical mechanism for translating continental commitments into practical interventions that benefit farmers across the region.

📌 What You Need to Know

“The endorsement marked a decisive step towards building a regional platform that will tackle soil fertility challenges, strengthen food security, and enhance resilience in the IGAD region,” PS Kundu said, in a statement read on her behalf by Evelyne Heyi, Assistant Director, Agriculture State Department for Agriculture.

The Nairobi meeting brings together policymakers, technical experts, development partners, researchers, and agricultural stakeholders to establish governance structures and agree on implementation priorities for the Hub.

The initiative is expected to play a central role in delivering commitments made by African Heads of State under the Nairobi Declaration and the Soil Initiative for Africa framework.

These commitments include tripling the production and distribution of certified organic and inorganic fertilizers by 2034, restoring at least 30 percent of degraded soils, and ensuring that 70 percent of smallholder farmers receive targeted agronomic recommendations and access to quality extension services.

Agriculture experts have identified soil degradation, low fertilizer use, and limited access to soil information as major constraints to agricultural productivity across Eastern Africa, where millions of people depend on farming for their livelihoods.

To address these challenges, the IGAD Soil Health and Fertilizer Hub will focus on six priority areas: policy harmonization and advocacy, capacity strengthening, soil information systems and integrated soil fertility management, research and innovation, fertilizer markets and trade, and resource mobilization through public-private partnerships.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya