The African Union (AU) on Tuesday launched a strategy to combat desertification on the continent for the next 10 years. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy and sustainable environment at the African Union Commission, said in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the new AU strategy of the Great Green Wall Initiative provides a mechanism for a harmonized and coordinated approach for multi-scale, collective action for restoring landscapes and building resilient communities in Africa's dry lands. The strategy explores new funding avenues and incentives through land-based restoration value chains that will finance activities that prevent and reclaim degraded land, Sacko said during the second Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit organized by the AU. The three-day event brought together over 4,000 African participants, as well as scientists and international donors, to foster critical discussions on improving soil productivity on the continent. Sacko added that the strategy covers 36 African countries and provides a roadmap to respond to the increasing threat of advancing desertification in Africa. Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, director of program innovation and planning at the African Union Development Agency, said that the strategy is aligned to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as well as the United Nations Convention to Combat Climate Change. Lisinge-Fotabong added that the strategy also prioritizes climate-smart agriculture and agroforestry in order to manage landscapes and fight desertification.
