Integrated Soil Fertility Management: Operational Definition and Consequences for Implementation and Dissemination
Abstract
Traditional farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa depend primarily on mining soil nutrients. The African green revolution aims to intensify agriculture through the dissemination of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). This paper develops a robust and operational definition of ISFM based on detailed knowledge of African farming systems and their inherent variability and of the optimal use of nutrients. The authors define ISFM as a set of soil fertility management practices that necessarily include the use of fertilizer, organic inputs and improved germplasm, combined with the knowledge on how to adapt these practices to local conditions, aimed at maximizing agronomic use efficiency of the applied nutrients and improving crop productivity. All inputs need to be managed in accordance with sound agronomic principles. The integration of ISFM practices into farming systems is illustrated with the dual-purpose grain legume–maize rotations in the savannas and fertilizer micro-dosing in the Sahel. Finally, the dissemination of ISFM practices is discussed.
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Biographies
B. Vanlauwe, A. Bationo, J. Chianu, O. Ohiokpehai, P. Pypers and N. Sanginga are with the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute, International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF-CIAT), PO 30677, Nairobi, Kenya. E-mail: [email protected]. K.E. Giller is with the Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 430, 6700 AK Wageningen, The Netherlands. R. Merckx is with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. U. Mokwunye is Director, Mokwunye Enterprises, International Consultants, 4th Ayiku Lane, Baatsonaa, Accra, Ghana. R. Tabo is with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) BP 12404, Niamey, Niger. K.D. Shepherd is with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), PO 30677, Nairobi, Kenya. E.M.A. Smaling is with the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, PO Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands. P.L. Woomer is with FORMAT, PO Box 79, The Village Market, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Article first published online: March 1, 2010
Issue published: March 2010
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