As we close out 2024, IFDC’s 50th anniversary, we reflect on the profound importance of our mission: healthier soils for a healthier world. This milestone year underscored our commitment to addressing soil degradation, which impacts 65% of Africa’s agricultural land and 3.2 billion people globally.
Healthy soils are essential for thriving ecosystems, food security, and climate resilience. They produce 95% of our food and are crucial for climate change mitigation and biodiversity restoration. Yet, investments in soil health remain insufficient despite progress in other agricultural technologies.
In 2024, IFDC worked tirelessly to change this narrative. We prioritized putting soil health on global agendas, supporting the African Union’s Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit, and advancing the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA) to anchor soil health in Africa’s Agenda 2063.
The new Regional Hubs for Fertilizer and Soil Health (the first opened under the leadership of ECOWAS, in Ibadan, Nigeria in June) exemplify scalable solutions and foster collaboration to restore soils and boost productivity. In partnership with the African Union, we’re also exploring revitalizing the African Center for Fertilizer Development as a hub for fertilizer research and a link in the global Fertilizer Innovation Center network.
As part of our anniversary, we hosted two symposia, Future Proofing: Unified Action for Soil Health and Food Security. The June event in Washington, D.C., explored paths to implementing the SIA, while the November symposium in Amsterdam focused on actionable soil health strategies. These events fostered global partnerships for sustainable solutions.
Our efforts extended through the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH) and the Coalition of Implementors for Fertilizers and Soil Health (CIFSH), promoting judicious fertilizer use to improve soil health and resilience. Additionally, we are establishing Fertilizer Innovation Centers worldwide, including in Brazil and India, to advance knowledge sharing and innovative practices like nutrient use efficiency, regenerative agriculture, applied green ammonia, and nutrient recirculation.
While celebrating our milestone anniversary, we acknowledged the need for systemic changes to integrate soil health into policies, incentives, and business models. Transforming soil management into a sustainable enterprise ensures benefits for farmers, especially on communal lands, through carbon credits, innovative financing, and policy protections.
Our 50-year journey highlights the transformative power of collective action and the potential to restore soil health and build resilient food systems. As we look ahead, the urgency of our mission is clear: healthier soils are key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we can create a sustainable future where healthier soils benefit generations to come.
Henk van Duijn
President and CEO, IFDC
Video: Five Decades of Impact
For five decades, IFDC has advanced solutions to some of agriculture’s greatest challenges. Through innovations in soil fertility, fertilizer use, and resource management, our donors, partners, and dedicated staff have worked to support smallholder farmers, enhance food security, and build resilient food systems worldwide. View our journey in enhancing sustainable agriculture globally.
