A critical analysis of challenges and opportunities for soil fertility restoration in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa |
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Authors: | E Schlecht A Buerkert E Tielkes A Bationo |
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Affiliation: | (1) Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany;(2) Institute of Crop Science, University of Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany;(3) Centre for Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany;(4) Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) Institute of CIAT, c/o ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya |
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Abstract: | Since the 1970s, research throughout West Africa showed that low soil organic matter and limited availability of plant nutrients,
in particular phosphorus and nitrogen, are major bottlenecks to agricultural productivity, which is further hampered by substantial
topsoil losses through wind and water erosion. A few widely recognized publications pointing to massive nutrient mining of
the existing crop–livestock production systems triggered numerous studies on a wide array of management strategies and policies
suited to improve soil fertility. Throughout Sudano-Sahelian West Africa, the application of crop residue mulch, animal manure,
rockphosphates and soluble mineral fertilizers have been shown to enhance crop yields, whereby yield increases varied with
the agro-ecological setting and the rates of amendments applied. In more humid areas of Western Africa, the intercropping
of cereals with herbaceous or ligneous leguminous species, the installation of fodder banks for increased livestock and manure
production, and composting of organic material also proved beneficial to crop production. However, there is evidence that
the low adoption of improved management strategies and the lack of long-term investments in soil fertility can be ascribed
to low product prices for agricultural commodities, immediate cash needs, risk aversion and labour shortage of small-scale
farmers across the region. The wealth of knowledge gathered during several decades of on-station and on-farm experimentation
calls for an integration of these data into a database to serve as input variables for models geared towards ex-ante assessment of the suitability of technologies and policies at the scale of farms, communities and regions. Several modelling
approaches exist that can be exploited in this sense. Yet, they have to be improved in their ability to account for agro-ecological
and socio-economic differences at various geographical scales and for residual effects of management options, thereby allowing
scenario analysis and guiding further fundamental and participatory research, extension and political counselling. |
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Keywords: | Fertilizers Legumes Modelling Organic amendments Soil fertility management West Africa |
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