Soil fertility degradation has been described as the single most important constraint to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Soil fertility decline is not just a problem of nutrient deficiency. It is one of soil physical and biological degradation, inappropriate crop varieties and cropping system design, and interactions with pests and diseases. This problem relates to the links between poverty and land degradation, and often perverse national and global policies that lack the right incentives and to institutional failures. Food security in Africa is one of the most pressing problems facing the continent. While the rest of the world has seen significant increases in per capita food availability over the past 45 years, the situation in SSA has only improved slightly, with devastating effects on millions of people on the continent. Malnutrition is widely recognized as an underlying cause of death associated with infectious diseases and projections suggest that undernourishment will worsen in SSA over the next decade. Malnutrition is projected to increase by an average of 32% in Africa (UNDP 2006). The impact of soil degradation is also devastating for Africa’s environment and compromises future development opportunities. Land and soil degradation have serious consequences for other natural resources on which Africa’s development depends. For example, degradation of water quality in rivers and lakes due to increased sediment loads affects fisheries and the quality of water sources for humans and animals, which, in turn, impacts health. Land degradation results in the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems and can lead to other negative impacts such as loss of biodiversity. The Global Land Assessment of Degradation (GLASOD), although based on expert opinion rather than direct field data, suggests that about 30 percent of total agricultural, permanent pasture, and forest and woodland areas in Africa are affected by soil degradation. African leaders have explicitly recognized that science and technology are vital for the transformation of the continent’s agriculture and related so cio-economic systems. This recognition is embedded in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) – particularly its Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) – and in the decisions of the first meeting of the African Ministerial Council for Science and Technology. CAADP and the Council put emphasis on the need to harness and apply science and technology to remove barriers to food and agricultural production. Both underline the role that scientific research and related technological innovations can play in addressing such constraints as poor soil fertility, drought and land degradation.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5716/WP15193.PDFAltmetric score:
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Publication year
2007
Authors
Verchot L V; Place F; Jama, B.A.; Shepherd K D
Language
English
Keywords
innovation adoption, land productivity
