Towards a green plant nutrition transition in East and Southern Africa

The abundance of renewable energy in East and Southern Africa offers considerable opportunities for countries to transition towards green economies. In particular, green plant nutrition could help to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer and food production, and deliver environmental, balance of trade and climate resilience benefits while helping to meet future food demand. Here we discuss the viability of a green nutrition transition in the region in relation to current constraints and bottlenecks in different locations. A green nutrition transition will require careful management so that knowledge and assets can be shared in ways that neither marginalize some agricultural producers and input suppliers nor worsen power asymmetries in communities. Inclusive and participatory processes will be required to help align often competing narratives and objectives at local and national levels and, where feasible, to modify institutional and power structures for the common good. We outline several concrete actions that could contribute to the green nutrition transition, including filling evidence gaps and carrying out ex ante and ex post impact studies, bringing together the public and private sectors in convenings to design and implement pilot studies, and exploring agricultural input subsidy realignment and other incentives with national governments and the private sector. Initiatives such as the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan and regional climate action plans provide solid frameworks for a wide range of activities, and the continent could lead the way in greening plant nutrition to the benefit of people and planet.