NEW PAPER in Soil Advances - Towards a Sustainable Phosphorus Network in Africa
Picture by Grace Kangara
Sustainable phosphorus management is crucial to ensure global food production and protect water quality. Phosphorus is mainly used in the agricultural sector as an essential nutrient for plant growth. In Africa, phosphorus fertiliser use is sub-optimal, and efforts must be made in ensuring adequate phosphorus fertiliser availability, access and use, while minimising the environmental impacts from losses. Achieving this balance is essential for meeting the demands of a growing population in the continent of Africa.
In a new paper published in Soil Advances, members of the SPS8 Team illustrate the rationale of convening the 8th Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS8) in Accra, Ghana, for this coming year.
The Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS) is the only global conference series supporting discourse on phosphorus sustainability spanning across the academic, agriculture, environmental, wastewater, policy and industry sectors. Hosting the 8th SPS (SPS8) in Africa for the very first time will present an opportunity to set the agenda for sustainable phosphorus management in Africa, and to place African contexts into the global discussion.
SPS8 has inclusive discourse at its heart. It is being organised collaboratively by different teams, including an African Local Organising Committee, an International Expert Working Group and an Early Career Working Group. Together, these teams are working to ensure that the SPS8 community fosters new collaborations across sectors and supports the next generation of sustainable phosphorus champions.
Workshop at UKCEH West Africa Office. Picture by Erica Zaja.
The paper highlights that SPS8 aims to pave the way towards the establishment of an African Sustainable Phosphorus Network, serving as a platform for collaboration, networking and knowledge co-creation and exchange to ensure sustainable phosphorus use in the region and beyond.
The 8th Sustainable Phosphorus (SPS8) initiative Arrow.
The paper calls for matching soil-crop phosphorus needs and enhancing circular phosphorus use systems, and informing ecosystem recovery planning in Africa and globally.
The uPcycle Project is proud to be working in support of SPS8!