Category: Soil Health for Improved Livelihoods

Building a Map of Bioavailable Phosphorus for African Soils
Researchers have produced a comprehensive map of soil P bioavailability for Africa’s commercial crops showing that almost the entirety of the continent’s agricultural soils can be expected to have an economic response to the application of P fertilizer.

Grain Legumes Contribute Immediate and Residual-Effects in Rain-fed Maize Production Systems
Within-season effects of intercropping are receiving increasing attention. However, the rotational performance is rarely investigated across seasons, even though the two are complementary strategies providing spatial-temporal crop diversification.

Why the Buzz on Regenerative Agriculture?
Resource-constrained systems need strategies that focus on striking a balance Regenerative Agriculture is taking the world by storm! Civil society, agribusiness, farmers, NGOs, multinationals—and increasingly researchers—are aligning around this new paradigm. But what is Regenerative Agriculture? What does it mean for the way we produce our food and for agricultural research in Africa?

Soil Organic Matter Regulates Maize Productivity and Fertilizer Response in Maize Production
Resource-constrained systems need strategies that focus on striking a balance between maintaining SOC above a critical value to ensure high agronomic fertilizer use efficiency and avoiding accumulations of nutrients to levels that prevent viable nutrient use efficiency.

Used Wisely, Fertilizers Will Feed Africa and Protect Its Unique Biodiversity
The balanced and efficient use of fertilizers is critical for improving food security, reducing malnutrition and protecting biodiversity in Africa. The next Africa Fertilizer Summit must result in concrete targets, commitments and actions by governments and industry to, within the next 10-20 years, at least triple the nutrient input rates on cropland. Otherwise hunger and malnutrition will persist, and more natural ecosystems will be destroyed.