Dilemma of Nitrogen Management for Future Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa- A Review
| Author | Cargele Masso | |
| Author | Fredrick Baijukya | |
| Author | Peter Ebanyat | |
| Author | Sifi Bouaziz | |
| Author | Wendt John | |
| Author | Mateete Bekunda | |
| Author | Bernard Vanlauwe | |
| Jurisdiction: | Sub Saharan Africa | |
| Date of acession | 2023-11-07T05:58:10Z | |
| Date of availability | 2023-11-07T05:58:10Z | |
| Date of issue | 2017-07 | |
| Abstract | Food security entails having sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs. The need to optimise nitrogen (N) use for nutrition security while minimising environmental risks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is overdue. Challenges related to managing N use in SSA can be associated with both insufficient use and excessive loss, and thus the continent must address the ‘too little’ and ‘too much’ paradox. Too little N is used in food production (80% of countries have N deficiencies), which has led to chronic food insecurity and malnutrition. Conversely, too much N load in water bodies due mainly to soil erosion, leaching, limited N recovery from wastewater, and atmospheric deposition contributes to eutrophication (152 Gg N year–1 in Lake Victoria, East Africa). Limited research has been conducted to improve N use for food production and adoption remains low, mainly because farming is generally practiced by resource-poor smallholder farmers. In addition, little has been done to effectively address the ‘too much’ issues, as a consequence of limited research capacity. This research gap must be addressed, and supportive policies operationalised, to maximise N benefits, while also minimising pollution. Innovation platforms involving key stakeholders are required to address N use efficiency along the food supply chain in SSA, as well as other world regions with similar challenges. | |
| URL | https://hub.ifdc.org/handle/20.500.14297/2706 | |
| Language | en | |
| Subject | Eutrophication | |
| Subject | Innovation | |
| Subject | Land degradation | |
| Subject | Nitrogen-use efficiency | |
| Title | Dilemma of Nitrogen Management for Future Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa- A Review | |
| Type | Article |