The Future of Farming to Meet Sustainable Development Goals in Africa | 14 Apr 2021

Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a global challenge, becoming acute in the face of climate change, natural resource degradation, and diseases affecting humans, animals and plants. Technologies and practices that promote sustainable intensification on smallholder farms vary spatially according to the diverse ways in which economic transformation and population dynamics are influencing the costs of land, farm labor, and cash inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds. At this seminar we reflect on how to achieve sustainable productivity gains through investments in soil health and knowledge. Reports have been commissioned on pioneering efforts in East and Southern Africa to engage and empower farmers and communities through approaches that specifically support disadvantaged youth and women. Highlights include innovations in extension, soil health monitoring and agricultural policy around sustainable intensification. Firsthand experiences were shared on how to scale out bidirectional learning and access to inputs, to address food security, and simultaneously, environmental security. A panel of experts reflected on the frontline experiences presented, and considered how sustainable agriculture intensification can be further supported and scaled out, in a rapidly changing world. This was a unique opportunity for lessons to be synthesized from cutting-edge innovations in soil health for SDG.