Search Results for: soils
Can Africa afford to save its soils?
On the fertilizer-starved continent of Africa, the discourses about soil fertility revolve around the availability of inorganic fertilizers, and how policy – subsidies, tariffs, markets – can be made to support their use. Supporters say that poor farmers are not able to make investments in restoring degraded soils because it takes too long to see […] Continue Reading
Tree intercropping ‘could save Africa’s soils’
Scientists have reported in Nature that the agroforestry approach of planting nutrient-fixing trees with food crops could help replenish Africa's poor quality soils, tackling one of the biggest threats to food security on the continent. Planting certain perennial trees together with food crops can more than double yields for maize and millet, which are among Sub-Saharan Africa's staple foods, scientists say. Continue Reading
Innovation of the Week: Fertilizer Tree Systems enrich soils naturally
According to “Agricultural success from Africa: the case of fertilizer tree systems in southern Africa (Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe),” a report from the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, simple Fertilizer Tree Systems (FTS) can double maize production in soil that is low in nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient. Click here to read more. Continue Reading
Unique Acacia Tree’s Promise to Revive African Soils
ScienceDaily report from the 2nd World Congres of Agroforestry held in 2009 at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). For the full story click here. Continue Reading