http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership This presentation was made during the African Soil Prtnership consulation workshop which took a place in Ghana, 20-22 May 2015. This presentation was made by Addam Kiari Saidou, and it presents the priorities for SSM in Niger. ©FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Global Soil Partnership (GSP) in West
Africa
20 - 22 Mai 2015 Accra, Ghana
ADDAM KIARI SAIDOU, INRAN NIGER
PRIORITIES FOR
SUSTAINABLE SOIL
MANAGEMENT

2. Land and Population
•Area : 1 267 000 Km2 and 17 millions
•Landlocked Country limited by:
•Algeria and Lybia to the North,
•Chad, to the East and Mali to the West
•Nigeria to the South
•Burkina Faso and Benin in the Western part.
Water
•River Niger (affluents)
•Komadougou Yobé
•Lac Tchad

3. Vegetation
The vegetation is a shrubby steppe usually
with species like Guiera senegalensis ,
Combretum nigricans , micrantum
Combretum , Acacia albida , Acacia nilotica
, the desert date ...

4. RAINFALL

6. soils •DESERTS SOILS ON NORTHERN PART
OF THE COUNTRY (1/2).
•POORLY DEVELOPED SOILS
ALMOST EVERY WHERE IN THE
COUNTRY.
•THE SUB-ARID BROWN SOILS
THIS IS A LONG BAND FROM MALI TO
CHAD•THE FERRUGINOUS TROPICAL SOILS
THESE ARE FOUD IN AREA WHERE
RAINFALL ARE ABUNDANT AND REGULAR.
•HYDROMORPHIC SOILS :
TARKA VALLEY, GOULBIN KABA AND
GOULBIN MARADI. ALSO PRESENT IN
RIVER NIGER.
•VERTISOLS
CLOSE TO CHAD AND CLEY SEDIMENT OF
DAMERGOU. .
ACID SOILS (PH 4.5 TO 7)
WITH LOW ORGANIC MATTER
CONTENT (0.15 TO 0.7%),
DEPRIVED OF PHOSPHORUS
(< 10 PPM) AND NITROGEN IS
ALSO LOW.

8. Status of the soil in Niger
•The soils are heterogeneous and require
different regimes of managements and fertilizer
application.
•Most soils are moderately fertile but in the absence of soil
amendments and appropriate cultural practices, the soil
continue to lose the nutritional balance required for
efficiency and sustainablity for crop production.
•The most common deficient soil nutrients are phosphorus
and Nitrogen.
•In many areas in Niger(arable land even virgin lands)
are low in available P as well as organic matter.
•Nutrients imbalance translate into low crop yield.

9. STATUS OF SOIL RESOURCES
•Soil erosion – average soil loss 190 tons .year-1 on bare soil
•Illegal removal of trees
•Cultivation on steep slopes
•Poor agricultural practices – slash & burn
•Heavy rainfall
•Fertilizers not affordable or available.
•Nutrient imbalances in the soil
•Competing uses for arable land

10. Soil Constraints
•deforestation
•Wind and water erosion
•population pressure
•monoculture
•Household poverty
•Export crop residues
• Unable to fertilize the soil

11. Wind and water erosion

12. Hedge grown from Euphorbia
balsimefera

13. Farmers collecting stones to build a
weir

14. Builduing stone bunds

15. Bund with Mulching

16. Zai or tassa planting pits

17. Semi circular bunds

18. Water spreading weirs

19. Plateau after rehabilitation with Nardi
Vallerani trenches and ripping

20. Constraints
•Ignorance of our soils
• State withdrawal
•Staff close to retirement
•Outdated Laboratory equipments

21. POTENTIALS
• Map at 1 / 500.000 (1968)
•Three sheets covering the southern
agricultural belt
•Soil testing laboratories
• GIS laboratory
•Human ressources

22. PRIORITIES
Policies
•SSM Policy recommendations to governments
•Create favorable socio-economic and policy
environment for farmers to invest in soils
•Direct investments in sustainable soil fertility
management
•Development of national soil science society

23. Capacity Building
Capacity
needs
at individual
Level
•Training in new and quick
methods of soil analysis
•Training of qualified
technicians and researchers
Capacity
needs at
institutional
level Establishment of well equipped soil
laboratories that can be used for
training national technicians.

24. Awareness
•Food security as main driver of SSM
•Communication plan for stakeholders,
including schools and public audiences
•Scaling out of good practices and
knowledge
•Common understanding of SSM

25. For sustainability of soil Management in
Niger
•Fertilizers use beyond 4kg. ha-1.
•Nutrient mining from crops production
range between 20-50kg .ha-1 . year-1
•To regenerate the nutrient mined soil, it
take 4-5 years of fallow.
•Farmers ‘ fields Schools …

26. –Soil organic matter / soil carbon
–Maximize organic/mineral input efficiencies
–Education in soil science
–Platform for information exchange
–Increased voice of soil scientists at policy level

27. Extension Services
•PARTICIPATORY FIELD WALK

28. Partnerships

29. •Develop and adapt methods for increasing
efficiency of biological nitrogen fixation and
Phosphorus cycling in soils/;
•Develop rotations which improve soil fertility
and soil conservation;
•Develop, improve and adapt methods for cost
effective use of: Organic fertilizers; mulching to
improve water retention; minimum tillage and
Cultural practices.
•Develop crop/livestock/trees for SSM.

30. Conclusion
•Policies, awareness, communication, partnership
•Updating soil maps and classification for SSM
•Capacity building (human and materials)
•Mobile Labs.
•Support for demonstration and
•Dissemination of new technologies in ISFM
•Train farmers in short and long term SSM
Technologies and other good practices like FMNR

31. THANK YOU