This document discusses integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) in sub-Saharan Africa. It defines ISFM as the application of soil fertility practices adapted to local conditions, including the use of fertilizer, organic inputs, and improved crops, to maximize nutrient use efficiency and productivity. The paper explores: (1) expected fertilizer responses under different soil types; (2) combining organic resources with fertilizer; and (3) adapting practices to local conditions like soil acidity or drought. Examples are provided for sorghum, millet, legume-maize, and cassava systems. Both crop yields and soil carbon impacts of ISFM are examined.
Presentation by Abdoulaye Mando at the May 15, 2013 event "Natural Resource Management and Food Security for a Growing Population". For more information visit: http://www.wri.org/event/2013/05/natural-resource-management-and-food-security-growing-population
Presentation by Abdoulaye Mando at the May 15, 2013 event "Natural Resource Management and Food Security for a Growing Population". For more information visit: http://www.wri.org/event/2013/05/natural-resource-management-and-food-security-growing-population
Conservation agriculture for resource use efficiency and sustainability BASIX
The Green Revolution era focused on enhancing the production and productivity of crops. New challenges demand that the issues of efficient resource use and resource conservation receive high priority to ensure that past gains can be sustained and further enhanced to meet the emerging needs. Extending some of the resource-conserving interventions developed for the agricultural crops are the major challenges for researchers and farmers alike. The present paper shares recent research experiences on resource conservation technologies involving tillage and crop establishment options and associated agronomic practices which enable farmers in reducing production costs, increase profitability and help them move forward in the direction of adopting conservation agriculture.
Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System is a new approach to interpreting leaf or plant analysis and a comprehensive system which identifies all the nutritional factors limiting crop production and increases the chances of obtaining high crop yields by improving fertilizer recommendations.
Introduction
enlist of problematic soil
Salt affected soil
Characteristic of salt affected soil
Comparison between salt affected soil
Reclamation of Saline soils
Reclamation of sodic soils
Reclamation of saline-sodic soils
Acidic soils
Reclamation of acidic soil
Acid Sulphate soils and its management
Calcareous soil
Integrated Management of Soil Fertility - Prerequisite for Increased Agricult...SIANI
This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa” held in September, 2010.
Conservation agriculture for resource use efficiency and sustainability BASIX
The Green Revolution era focused on enhancing the production and productivity of crops. New challenges demand that the issues of efficient resource use and resource conservation receive high priority to ensure that past gains can be sustained and further enhanced to meet the emerging needs. Extending some of the resource-conserving interventions developed for the agricultural crops are the major challenges for researchers and farmers alike. The present paper shares recent research experiences on resource conservation technologies involving tillage and crop establishment options and associated agronomic practices which enable farmers in reducing production costs, increase profitability and help them move forward in the direction of adopting conservation agriculture.
Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System is a new approach to interpreting leaf or plant analysis and a comprehensive system which identifies all the nutritional factors limiting crop production and increases the chances of obtaining high crop yields by improving fertilizer recommendations.
Introduction
enlist of problematic soil
Salt affected soil
Characteristic of salt affected soil
Comparison between salt affected soil
Reclamation of Saline soils
Reclamation of sodic soils
Reclamation of saline-sodic soils
Acidic soils
Reclamation of acidic soil
Acid Sulphate soils and its management
Calcareous soil
Integrated Management of Soil Fertility - Prerequisite for Increased Agricult...SIANI
This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa” held in September, 2010.
Presentation by Sara Scherr (President, EcoAgriculture Partners) at the May 15, 2013 event "Natural Resource Management and Food Security for a Growing Population". For more information visit: http://www.wri.org/event/2013/05/natural-resource-management-and-food-security-growing-population
Regenerative Agriculture for small scale farmers in the sub-humid tropicsFMNR Hub
Tools and techniques to maximize profits and build resilient farming systems and improve natural resources management in Zambia
By Sebastian Scott – Grassroots Trust
Fertilizer use and crop production worldwide,Green revolution & fertilizer,Soil organic matter build-up & fertilizer,Fertilizers and the environment,Soil Fertility in Asia,Soil Fertility in Africa,Future needs for research and outreach
restoring the soil physical structure and chemical fertility, improving soil organic C and therefore, sustaining the system productivity. Nitrogen fixers and phosphate solubilizer contribute through biological fixation of nitrogen, solubilization of fixed nutrients and enhanced uptake of plant nutrients (Gupta et al., 2003).
INM tries to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers by taking advantages of non-chemical sources of nutrients such as the manures, composts and bio-fertilizers (Gopalasundaram et al., 2012). Bio-fertilizers application not only increases plants growth and yield, but increase soil microbial population and activity; resulting in improved soil fertility (Ramesh et al., 2014). They include free-living bacteria which promote plant growth even in polluted soils. Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Thiobacillus are examples of these bacteria (Zahir et al., 2004). Niess (2002) reported that plant growth promoting bacteria reduced the toxicity of heavy metals and increased plant growth and yield.
Intercropping has been in practice for centuries to sustain yield, minimize risk, utilize the lag phase, and improve productivity (Rao, 2000). It reported that physico-chemical changes in soil under pure and alley cropping with Leucaena leucocephala (after six year) and found that alley cropping more suitable than pure crop (Gangwar et al., 2004).
Existing practices for soil fertility management through cereals-legume inter...Premier Publishers
Low crop production has been attributed to inherently low availability of plant nutrients, nutrient imbalances and inadequate soil moisture for plant growth. Past and current soil management practices have enhanced the degradation of the soils. These have been caused by increased withdrawal of plant nutrients from the soil and consequently to reduced plant growth. To meet future food requirements, it is inevitable that the use of inorganic fertilizers will continue to increase. However, such fertilizers are expensive to farmers and they are potential environmental pollutants. The intensification and diversification of the cropping systems and traditional practices in Africa have compounded the decline in soil fertility. To raise and sustain soil fertility and productivity in Africa, appropriate traditional soil fertility management practices have to be developed and adopted by farmers. Cereal-legumes cropping systems accompanying management technologies indicated the advantage of these technologies and their function of socio-economic and bio-physical conditions. This review explored the mechanisms and processes associated with soil fertility management, effect of intensive agriculture on soil degradation, role of traditional and scientific knowledge, benefits, challenges and additional cereal-legumes cropping systems. These contributed to understanding the effects soil fertility management decisions and human-use impacts on long-term ecological composition and function.
Presentation by Mike McGahuey (Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Advisor, USAID) and Jerry Glover (Senior Sustainable Agricultural Systems Advisor, USAID) at the May 15, 2013 event "Natural Resource Management and Food Security for a Growing Population". For more information visit: http://www.wri.org/event/2013/05/natural-resource-management-and-food-security-growing-population
Credit of peanut to subsequent wheat under desert farming conditions in prese...IJAEMSJORNAL
Rotation with leguminous crops to break non-legume monocultures has been established to benefit the latter. The lacking information on this cultivation system in stressed environments encouraged the implementation of two field trials in two different locations of Ismailia desert soils. The experimental design included the cultivation of wheat subsequent to peanut in presence of diazotroph inoculation and N fertilization. Bradyrhizobial inoculation of the legume in combination with 50 kg N acre-1 resulted in the highest total biological yields of 4.24 and 5.01 kg plot-1 at the experimental sites 1 and 2, respective seed yields of 1.46 and 1.61 kg pot-1 were recorded. In case of the cereal crop, the measured acetylene reducing activities in soils of associative diazotroph-inoculated plants together with 50 kg N acre-1 were the highest being 515.8-886.2 and 616.7-1066.2 nmoles C2H4 g-1 h-1 at locations 1 and 2 respectively. The enzymatic activity of fallow-cultivated wheat generally represented ca. 95 % of that in subsequent to peanut. Irrespective of inoculation and N fertilization, the wheat biomass yield increases in residual effect-field over the fallow one were 6.4-35.1 % and 4.6-38.5 % at experimental sites 1 and 2 respectively. Increase percentages of 3.1-26.6 and 6.9-44.7 were scored as well for grain yield. The beneficial residual effect of the legume to the succeeding cereal was also extended to protein yields, increases of 4.0-14.2 % and 4.5-7.6 % were estimated for grain protein as well as 8.3-24.1 % and 8.1-35.3 % for straw protein yield. The findings of this study proved that the positively yield turnover of a legume is extended to the subsequent non-legume. Besides, the beneficial residual effects of legumes toward rotated non legumes could be magnified by diazotroph inoculation together with adequate N supply particularly in stressed environments represented, in the present study, by Ismailia sandy soil.
Agro-Economic Benefits of Weed Biomass and Crop Residue in Maize Production S...IOSRJAVS
The climatic conditions of coastal Kenya favour rapid weed growth, leading to the accumulation of large biomass of weeds between cropping seasons. Smallholder farmers in the region usually slash and remove the weed biomass and crop residue from their farms during land preparation in order to facilitate easy planting. The impact of such practice on the production of maize has not been assessed. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the farmers’ practice on the performance of maize and fertilizer requirement. Three methods of managing weed biomass and crop residue (removal from field, incorporation into soil, or use as surface mulch) and five fertilizer rates (60 kg N ha-1 , 20 kg P ha-1 , 30 kg N ha-1 , 10 kg P ha-1 , and no fertilizer application) were evaluated. Removal of weed biomass and crop residue from the field led to 20-26% loss in grain yield and reduced the returns to labour by 41-51%.There was no response to applied P where weed biomass and crop residue had been incorporated into soil. Efforts should therefore be made to educate farmers on the advantages of retaining weed biomass and crop residue on their farms as they prepare land for subsequent crops.
Fertilizer microdosing technology in sorghum, millet and maize production at ...IJASRD Journal
World population is alarmingly increasing, to feed the growing population, farmers must increase food production. Mineral fertilizer application takes the lion-share on crop productivity. However, due to the high cost of fertilizer, majority of African farmers add smaller than the recommended rate. Therefore, the farmers must adopt a technology that is environmentally friendly and minimizes dose of fertilizer keeping productivity higher than conventional fertilization. Microdosing (small and affordable quantities) fertilizer application produces higher grain yield as compared to control and banding application. Application of 0.3g NPK to 6g of NPK per pocket could increase yield of millet in range of 31.3% to 90.3 %. Similarly, application of 0.3 g NPK to 4 g NPK per pocket could increase yield of sorghum 40.9 % to 83 %. Microdosing fertilizer application is feasible and profitable than conventional fertilizer application. However, fertilizers in Africa are found in 50 kg package, which are not affordable by the poor resource farmers. The availability of fertilizer in affordable package is very crucial in expanding the technology. Moreover, the farmers must have the opportunity to inventory credit like warrantage system so that they borrow money to use it for input cost and store the crops after harvest when the price of the crops are low and resell them when the prices are higher. The use of the microdosing method brings entire changes to the existing fertilizer application methods; hence, there is a need for a strong linkage among researchers, farmers, and policy makers.
As part of the seminar held by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) under the title of "Fertilizer policy in Egypt and options for improvements".
Evidence for scaling-up evergreen agriculture to increase productivity and re...africa-rising
Presented by Anthony Kimaro (ICRAF) and Elirehema Swai (ARI-Hombolo) at the Africa RISING East and Southern Africa Research Review and Planning Meeting, Arusha, Tanzania, 1-5 October 2012
Presentation by Prof Paul Mapfumo. Presented during a pre - SBSTA meeting on CSA Alliance: Building Climate Change Resilience in Africa held on 30th May 2014 in Bonn, Germany http://ccafs.cgiar.org/csa-alliance-building-climate-change-resilience-africa#.U42GUihCCTs
Evaluation of the Growth and Yield Performances of Maize in a Soybean Culture...iosrjce
IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal edited by the International Organization of Scientific Research (IOSR). The journal provides a common forum where all aspects of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences are presented. The journal invites original papers, review articles, technical reports and short communications containing new insight into any aspect Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences that are not published or not being considered for publication elsewhere.
Conservation agriculture (CA) refers to a set of agricultural practices encompassing minimum mechanical soil disturbance, diversified crop rotation and permanent soil cover with crop residues to mitigate soil erosion and improve soil fertility besides soil functions. The CA aims to conserve, improve and make more efficient use of resources through CA-based technologies. It has many tangible and intangible benefits in terms of reduced cost of production, saving of time, increased yield through timely planting, improved water productivity, adaptation to climate variability, reduced disease and pest incidence through stimulation of biological diversity, reduced environmental footprints and ultimately improvements in soil health. However, weeds are a major biotic interference in CA, posing big defy towards its success unless all the principles are completely followed. Development of post-emergence herbicide and growing herbicide-tolerant crops and also the retention of crop residues as a mulch help in managing weed problems and also improve soil moisture retention. Furthermore, this practice of agriculture improves soil organic carbon content which ultimately leads to an increase in input use efficiency.
Evaluating Plantmate organic manure and prime EC foliar on plant performance ...Innspub Net
Trials for the effectiveness of Plantmate organic manure and Prime EC Foliar Plant Food for increased yields for selected crops were done in five different Agro-ecological zones and soil types, in Kenya. The approach was executed through controlled greenhouse experiment and in the field. The trials data obtained indicated Plantmate organic manure and Prime EC Foliar Plant Food in combination with half the rate of recommended inorganic fertilizer performed significantly (p<0.05) better than all other treatments. Thus, plots treated with Plantmate organic manure and Prime EC Foliar Plant Food gave higher yields in common beans, French beans, maize, onions, cabbages, capsicum with percentages exceeding 100 compared to the control in most cases. In many soils fertilizers are fixed and rendered insoluble under certain soil conditions such as soil pH. The Plantmate organic manure and Prime EC Foliar Plant Food ameliorated the soil conditions as it interacted with inorganic fertilizer thus increasing its use efficiency by crops. Plantmate organic manure and Prime EC Foliar Plant Food not only increased soil chemical fertility but also improves water use efficiency at low matric potential and generally improves plant vigor and soil health.
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Pollination knowledge exchange for food, nutrition and livelihood security in...SIANI
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Inclusive market development for urban and rural prosperitySIANI
Inclusive market development for urban and rural prosperity. Elisabet Montgomery, Senior Policy Specialist for Employment and Market Development at Swedish Agency for Development Cooperation, Sida
Fair and just food systems enabling local midstream businesses? What does it ...SIANI
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UN Food Systems Summit: Swedish National Dialogue Presentations (Morning Sess...SIANI
On the 25th of January 2021, the Swedish Food Systems Summit National Dialogue took place. This dialogue brought together representatives from various public sector agencies, food sector industries and research institutions, and was organised through a joint effort by the Swedish Government Offices, the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and SIANI. Here, different private and public actors presented on the topic of food systems and their work therein.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
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We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
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Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
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Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
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Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
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Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithy
Integrated soil fertility management: definition and impact on productivity and soil C
1. TSBF
Fertility
Soil
Biology
B Vanlauwe
TSBF-CIAT
Kenya, Nairobi
b.vanlauwe@cgiar.org
Integrated soil fertility management: definition
and impact on productivity and soil C
ABSTRACT
Traditional farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa depend primarily on mining soil nutrients. The African Green
Revolution aims at intensifying agriculture through dissemination of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). In
this paper we develop a robust and operational definition of ISFM, based on detailed knowledge of African farming
systems and their inherent variability and of optimal use of nutrients. We 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, aiming at maximizing agronomic
use efficiency of the applied nutrients and improving crop productivity. All inputs need to be managed following
sound agronomic principles.’
Issues that will be covered in this paper include: (i) the use of mineral fertilizer and expected responses under varying
soil conditions, (ii) the use of locally available organic inputs in combination with fertilizer, and (iii) the integration of
legume species in rice-based systems, including aspects of improved agronomy. Examples are given for specific
African farming systems with high potential for adoption of ISFM, including sorghum and millet based systems in the
Sahel, legume-maize systems in the savanna, and cassava-based systems in the humid forest. For each above theme,
both issues of crop productivity and soil carbon stocks and dynamics will be covered. Finally, the conditions that
enable the adoption of ISFM, including access to markets and appropriate policy, are also discussed.
4. Finally, fertilizer is back on the African research
for development agenda! [though the pro-organic
agriculture voice & no-to-fertilizer voices are still heard!]
Statement in 1996 (Research Director, IITA):
‘You can’t include fertilizer in your work since
farmers in Africa are not using fertilizer’
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA) (headed by K Anan): ‘By 2015, increase
fertilizer use from 8 to 50 kg fertilizer nutrients/ha’
Soil health program of AGRA [50% improved
plants, 50% improved soils]
The opportunity…
5.
6. Soils are old; limited rejuvenation
Production environment in Africa
7. Only about 10% of the arable land in use
Production environment in Africa
8. Only about 10% of the arable land in use
[limited areas with large population densities]
Production environment in Africa
9. Lack of infrastructure, market organization
Production environment in Africa
12. Lack of favorable policy [e.g, Nigeria: subsidies
have been on/off over the past 30 years]
Declining capacity in R&D for soil fertility mgt
Insufficient investment in agricultural R&D
Brain drain
Climate change, drought
Civil strife
HIV/AIDS, malnutrition
Land tenure insecurity
High inflation, low salaries
Etc, etc, etc
Production environment in Africa
13. FAO Index of Net Food Output per Capita, 1961-2000
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
World E SE Asia South Asia Sub-Sahara
Current status of agriculture in Africa
18. Necessary components of ISFM
4. Fields are
heterogeneous
Good soil – same farm
Poor soil – same farm
19. ‘The application of soil fertility management
practices, and the knowledge to adapt these to
local conditions, which maximize fertilizer and
organic resource use efficiency and crop
productivity. These practices necessarily
include appropriate fertilizer and organic input
management in combination with the
utilization of improved germplasm’
Definition of ISFM
23. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Average of 8 kg nutrients/ha
Relatively poor AE due to
poor fertilizer management
Lack of use of improved
germplasm
Current practice
24. Step 1: Fertilizer and germplasm
0
1000
2000
3000
low medium high
manage me nt
maizeyield[kgha
-1
]
control (no fertilizer applied)
fertilizer applied
Maizegrainyield(kg/ha)
Management regime
Management
intensity
(planting date,
crop density and
time of
phosphorus
application),
Tinfouga, Mali
(Bationo et al.,
1997).
33. Site (years) Source of organic
matter
Organic C (g kg-1)
None Fert OM Fert
+OM
Ibadan (10) ACa with Leucaena 5.9 5.8 9.7 9.3
Ibadan (10) AC with Senna 5.9 5.8 10.0 9.7
Ibadan (10) Rotation + Mucuna 5.9 5.8 7.4 8.3
Zaria (45) External Manure 3.3 2.9 5.0 5.0
Saria (18) External Manure 2.5 2.4 NA 3.5
Average 4.7 4.5 8.0 7.2
Step 2: Combining fert and OM
Soil C issues
34. 0
10
20
30
40
50
SoilC(gCkg-1
soil)
Silt and clay
Microaggregates
Macroaggregates
Control T. diversifolia C. calothyrsus Z. mays
b
a
a a
Soil C contents of three
aggregate size fractions
(macroaggregates (>250
µm), microaggregates
(53-250 µm), and silt
and clay (<53 µm)) after
3 years of 4 Mg litter-C
ha-1 yr-1 input (no
input, T. diversifolia, C.
calothyrsus, and Z. mays)
in a maize cropping
system in Central Kenya.
Source: Gentile et al, 2010
Step 2: Combining fert and OM
Soil C issues
35. Source: Vanlauwe et al, PLSO, 2010
Step 3: Adaptation to local conditions
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Infield Outfield
Controlmaizeyield(kgha
-1
)
SED
(a)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Infield Outfield
N-AE(kggrainkg
-1
N)
SED
(b)
36. Step 3: Adaptation to local conditions
IF acid soil THEN apply lime
IF soil crusting THEN superficial tillage
IF plow layer THEN deep tillage
IF drought THEN water harvesting
IF … THEN …
37. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Step 3: Adaptation to local conditions
38. Step 3: Adaptation to local conditions
Occurrence of non-responsive soils!
39. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Step 3: Adaptation to local conditions
42. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Increase in complexity
Complete ISFM???
- Improved fallows
- Agroforestry systems
- Biomass transfer
systems
- ???
- ???
43. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Increase in complexity
‘Simple’ approaches
- Demonstrations
- Information folders
- Diagnosis non-
responsive fields
- Supply chain issues
- [Partial] subsidy
44. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Increase in complexity
The Malawi fertilizer
subsidy programme
- Fertilizer + seed
starter packs
- From net importer to
net exporter (2006)
-AE is 14 kg grain/kg
fertilizer nutrient
45. Agronomicefficiency
Current
practice
Germplasm
& fertilizer
+ Organic
resource mgt
+ Local
adaptation
Germplasm
& fertilizer’
+ Organic
resource mgt
Germplasm
& fertilizer
‘Full ISFM’
Move towards ISFM
Increase in knowledge
Responsive soils
Poor, less-responsive soils
A
B
C
Yield/
Increase in complexity
‘Simple’ approaches
- Demonstrations
- Information folders
- Diagnosis non-
responsive fields
- Supply chain issues
- [Partial] subsidy
Intensive approaches
- Farmer capacity
- Farmer field schools
- Interactive learning
- Diagnosis SF status
- Best-fit options
- Extension training
48. AE within the ISFM is based on short term gains
Focus on productivity… but indications that
soil C can also be increased (soil-based
ecosystem services)
It is difficult to achieve complete ISFM; probably
a realistic goal should be to ‘move towards’
rather than achieving complete ISFM everywhere
Local diagnosis is crucial for local adaptation
Limitations to the AE concept
49. 1. This is the time for soil science and plant
nutrition to show impact in Africa; ISFM will drive
investments in soil fertility focusing on
resource-use efficient agriculture!
Take home messages
50. 1. This is the time for soil science and plant
nutrition to show impact in Africa; ISFM will drive
investments in soil fertility focusing on
resource-use efficient agriculture!
2. The AE concept works; fertilizer as an entry
point
towards agricultural intensification in SSA
Take home messages
51. 1. This is the time for soil science and plant
nutrition to show impact in Africa; ISFM will drive
investments in soil fertility focusing on
resource-use efficient agriculture!
2. The AE concept works; fertilizer as an entry
point
towards agricultural intensification in SSA
3. Moving towards complete ISFM: immediate
impact is possible while investments in capacity
building for complete ISFM are happening
Take home messages
52. 1. This is the time for soil science and plant
nutrition to show impact in Africa; ISFM will drive
investments in soil fertility focusing on
resource-use efficient agriculture!
2. The AE concept works; fertilizer as an entry
point
towards agricultural intensification in SSA
3. Moving towards complete ISFM: immediate
impact is possible while investments in capacity
building for complete ISFM are happening
4. Creating an enabling environment for ISFM
Take home messages
53. 1. Under which conditions (population, soil,
markets, etc) can ISFM be the model for
intensification?
Questions for a fruitful debate
54. 1. Under which conditions (population, soil,
markets, etc) can ISFM be the model for
intensification?
2. Is fertilizer a valid entry point to improve soil
fertility and soil C status and ensure longer term
productivity increases?
Questions for a fruitful debate
55. 1. Under which conditions (population, soil,
markets, etc) can ISFM be the model for
intensification?
2. Is fertilizer a valid entry point to improve soil
fertility and soil C status and ensure longer term
productivity increases?
3. How do we diagnose and manage non-responsive
soils?
Questions for a fruitful debate
56. 1. Under which conditions (population, soil,
markets, etc) can ISFM be the model for
intensification?
2. Is fertilizer a valid entry point to improve soil
fertility and soil C status and ensure longer term
productivity increases?
3. How do we diagnose and manage non-responsive
soils?
4. At which scale should ISFM recommendations
be developed (variation at different scales)?
Questions for a fruitful debate