Soil and Soil Fertility Management Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: Fifty Years of Shifting Visions and Chequered Achievements

ISBN-13: 9781138698512 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 362 str.

Henk Mutsaers; Danny Coyne; Stefan Hauser

Opis

Soil fertility management is crucial for sustainable crop production and for food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This book describes the various paradigms underlying soil science and soil fertility research in SSA over the last fifty years. It provides examples of important innovations generated and assesses the position of research within the research-for-development (RforD) community, including how innovations have been validated with the intended beneficiaries. Using the experience of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as a case study, the authors analyse how processes, partnerships and other factors have affected research priorities, the delivery of outputs, and their uptake by farming communities in SSA. They evaluate both successes and failures of past investments in applied soil fertility research and important lessons learnt which provide crucial information for national and international scientists currently engaged in soil fertility and agronomy research and applications. The book is organized in a number of chapters each covering a chronological period characterized by its primary research content and approaches and by the dominant research paradigms and delivery models.

Spis treści

1. The Exploratory Years: 1967-1976  2. More Exploration, Lagging Integration, Weak Impact: 1977-1982  3. New Trends, Old Habits: 1983-1988  4. Towards Farming Systems: 1989-1994  5. Ecoregions, Benchmarks and Projects: 1995-2001  6. Research for Development – From the Virtual to the Real Farm: 2002-2011  7. Addressing Farmers’ Own Soil Fertility Challenges: 2012-Today  8. Looking Back and Moving Forward