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Abstract
African agriculture stands at a crossroads. Either food security
in Africa will remain elusive with isolated successes fuelling a
sense of false optimism in an otherwise dismal situation, or
decisive action can be taken to assist small-scale farmers to
grow more and more valuable crops. Excellent progress is
being made in crop improvement and seed systems, and many
crop diseases, particularly viruses and fungal leaf pathogens, no
longer pose a major problem. Low soil fertility and nutrient
depletion continue, however, to represent huge obstacles to
securing needed harvests. Improving access to fertilisers is a
necessary countermeasure; however, the low returns from
unskilled use of these products present a major impediment to
their adoption by most small-scale farmers. Integrated Soil Fertility Management
(ISFM) is defined as: the application of soil fertility management practices, and the
knowledge to adapt these to local conditions, which optimise fertiliser and organic
resource-use efficiency and crop productivity. ISFM represents a means to overcome
this dilemma by offering farmers better returns for investment in fertiliser through
its combination with indigenous agro-minerals and available organic resources.
Disseminating knowledge of ISFM and developing incentives for its adoption now
stand as challenges before national planners and rural development specialists. Done
efficiently, these will result in more productive and sustainable agriculture, improved
household and regional food security and increased incomes among small-scale
farmers.