Food security, one of the basic human rights, seems to be ever eluding the people of sub-Saharan Africa. With each occurrence of crop failure, agriculturalists around the world reawaken to the challenge of ensuring sta ble, adequate food production in the tropical African environments. The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), with its mandate of alleviating food shortages through judicial use of fertilizers, formulated a program to study fertilizer use strategies for sub-Saharan Africa. With gener ous financial assistance from the International Fund for Agricultural Devel opment (IFAD), IFDC, in collaboration with the International Crop Re search Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IIT A), initiated a research project aimed at assessing means to remedy soil nutrient deficiencies that constrain food production in the humid, subhumid, and semiarid tropics of Africa. The results of this project were summarized during a workshop held in Togo, March 25-28, 1985; the proceedings of that meetings are found in this vol ume. The project established collaboration with numerous national programs that were responsible for much of the data collection. The data presented in Chapters 6 and 9 include much of this information. We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the individual scientists, J.T. Ambe, F. Ganry, M. Gaoh, M. Issaka, J. Kiazolu, J. Kikafunde-Twine, K. Kpomblekou, F. Lompo, H.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 408. This report is a critical review of the technical, economic, and institutional constraints on improving soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the actions recommended to address them. Action plans prepared for Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mali examine the demand for and supply of mineral fertilizers, the exploitation of local mineral resources, the prevention of soil erosion and increasing soil-water retention, and soil fertility management using organic technologies and management practices.

Forward. A call for integrated soil fertility management in Africa. Introduction. ISFM and the African farmer. Part I. The principles of ISFM: ISFM as a strategic goal, Fertilizer management within ISFM, Agro-minerals in ISFM, Organic resource management, ISFM, soil biota and soil health. Part II. ISFM practices: ISFM products and fields practices, ISFM practice in drylands, ISFM practice in savannas and woodlands, ISFM practice in the humid forest zone, Conservation Agriculture. Part III. The process of implementing ISFM: soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, Dissemination of ISFM technologies, Designing an ISFM adoption project, ISFM at farm and landscape scales. Part IV. The social dimensions of ISFM: The role of ISFM in gender empowerment, ISFM and household nutrition, Capacity building in ISFM, ISFM in the policy arena, Marketing support for ISFM, Advancing ISFM in Africa. Appendices: Mineral nutrient contents of some common organic resources.

Food insecurity is a fundamental challenge to human welfare and economic growth in Africa. Low agricultural production leads to low incomes, poor nutrition, vulnerability to risk and threat and lack of empowerment. This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of agricultural research and development experiences from sub-Saharan Africa. The text highlights practical lessons from the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Systems Approaches for Agricultural Development, 2-6 December 1991, Bangkok, Thailand

Long-awaited second edition of classic textbook, brought completely up to date, for courses on tropical soils, and reference for scientists and professionals.