Integrated Soil Fertility Management, and Effective Water Conservation Technology for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date
2004
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Abstract
Soil fertility is naturally low in extensive parts of subSaharan Africa (SSA) and nutrient mining, through crop nutrient removal without adequate replenishment, leads to soil degradation. To reverse soil and environmental degradation, it is imperative to develop new and sustainable technologies in cooperation with farmers. IFDC is involved in the development of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) strategies that enhance both agricultural productivity and soil fertility through the appropriate and integrated use of locally available organic resources and inorganic fertilizers. IFDC has developed – in close collaboration with its partner institutions and major stakeholders (i.e. farmers, input dealers, traders, rural bankers) a participatory process-oriented approach to promote ISFM strategies in several well-targeted areas in West Africa. Strategic research is being carried out with partners in West Africa to fill gaps in existing knowledge and in particular, to examine synergies obtained from ISFM strategies and their impact on water- and nutrient-use efficiencies. Concepts of water-limited versus nutrient-limited growing conditions and results from strategic research efforts in south Togo and Burkina Faso are reported on. The combined use of mineral fertilizers and a mucuna short fallow resulted in significant gains in agricultural productivity in mixed maize-manioc production systems in Togo. The mulching effect of mucuna led to increased grain yield and nutrient (N) use efficiency by maize. This was ascribed to the effectiveness of mucuna mulch in improving water conservation and crop establishment. In Burkina Faso, stone rows and grass strips were shown to be effective means to conserve water, but sorghum productivity and water use efficiency were only improved with application of compost or urea-N. The combined application of urea-N and various organic soil amendments led to increased grain yield and N agronomic efficiency by sorghum, but not water conservation. In SSA, nutrients will be often be more limiting than water and ISFM is, therefore, key to improved agricultural productivity and increased water use efficiency.
Description
Keywords
Integrated Soil Fertility Management, Land degradation
Citation
Fofana, B., M.C.S. Wopereis, R. Zougmoré, H. Breman and A. Mando. 2004. “Integrated Soil Fertility Management, An Effective Water Conservation Technology for Sustainable Dryland Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa,” WCT Symposium Proceedings, South Africa, pp. 109-117.