soil fertility

This research report presents results of a search for policies and conditions that can help accelerate agricultural development in Africa. This development has been limited in many countries, as evinced by extreme low fertilizer use, low crop yields, poverty and high food insecurity. A hopeful tendency emerges from this study: African agricultural development is taking off in response to population growth, as is shown by the cereal yield and fertilizer use adoption trends in many countries. »

This publication evaluates a soil scanner in Kenya, to identify success factors, possible bottlenecks and the added value of innovative soil testing services for farmers. Farmers indicated positive experiences with the scan, but it takes at least six months of investing to get these results. A critical success factor for the implementation of soil scanner services, are the management and board of a cooperative »

Agroforestry is a low cost foundational practice to increase agricultural productivity and set the stage for further intensification. If used in combination with water harvesting, organic manure and micro-doses of good quality fertilizer yields in drylands can increase greatly. This was a key message of Chris Reij, Senior Fellow Global Restoration Initiative at the World Resources Institute, who gave a presentation during a lunch seminar organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. »

This study investigates productivity and economic and climate trade-offs in soil fertility management strategies in smallholder African indigenous vegetable production in Kenya. Soil fertility management strategies that mix inorganic and organic source present a pathway to sustainable intensification in AIV production. »

This blog describes a study that suggests that adding fast-reacting silicate rocks to croplands could capture CO2 and give increased protection from pests and diseases while restoring soil structure and fertility. »

This blog describes two mechanisms to adapt soil health indicator technologies in a simple way and at lower cost, so that they can be applied by smallholder farmers themselves to evaluate the effect of different varieties of tropical forages and their management on the health of their own farm. »