| Sumario: | Progress toward agricultural transformation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals has been slow in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural productivity is persistently low, owing to a myriad of factors, including declining soil health and fertility. Fertilizer price subsidies have been the most popular agricultural policy instrument in many SSA countries, with some countries spending 20–40% of their agricultural budget on fertilizer subsidies (Jayne et al., 2018). In May 2024, African Union member states declared their commitment to improving access to affordable fertilizer on the continent. This declaration, made during the African Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, has been followed by diverse post-summit efforts to support evidence-based implementation of the associated AFSH Action Plan. However, there is a growing recognition that there is considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in crop response to fertilizer and the profitability of fertilizer use. This Policy Brief synthesizes policy lessons and outlines five policy levers to guide country and regional efforts aimed at improving soil health as a pathway to higher and sustainable crop productivity and profitability.
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