Problems, Progress and Partnerships A. Bationo

1. Problems, Progress and PartnershipsA. Bationo Combating Soil Fertility Degradation in the Desert Margins of Africa

2. Why Focus on Soils in the desert margins of Africa • Low /declining/ unstable land productivity • Interactions with the other factors such as climate change, water quality, C sequestration • Limited returns to crop breeding • Lot of soil research initiatives. What is NEW?

3. Soil Degradation in Africa

4. Percentage decreases in soil fertility in farmers’ fields under continuous cultivation in the savanna zone of Nigeria

5. Annual losses rates of soil organic carbon measured at farm level in WASAT

6. Growth rate of millet 1979-1994

7. Greater Yield Increase Due to Land Expansion than to Crop Improvement Potential Based on three-year average for 1988-1990 and 1998-2000. FAO database.

8. The Yield Gap From Station and On-farm Fields

9. N,P,K Application Versus Loss in Africa

10. Fertilizer Prices 1998/99 -- DAP • Location Price per ton ($) • USA (Kansas) 260 • Pakistan 283 • Bangladesh 286 • South Africa 348 • Central Ethiopia 350 • C. Kenya 415 • Malawi 470 • Uganda 550

11. Integrated Nutrient Benefits

12. Sources of Organic Matter Residues Imperata Oilpalm Manure

13. Integrated Soil Fertility Management Strategy Integrated Pest Management Soil Conservation Water Management ISFM Entry point Resilient Germplasm /Fertilizer(org+Inorg) Ecosystem Services

14. Strategies ISFM Enabling policies Market/Seed/Fertilizer Farmer participation ISFM

15. Water use (WU), grain yield (GY) and water use efficiency (WUE) for millet in Niger

16. Grain response to N levels at degraded and non-degraded sites

17. N and P use efficiency at Karabedji, Niger 1998-2002

18. Farmers managed trials at Gaya, 2002 rainy season

19. Effect of P sources and placement on cowpea yield and P use efficiency (PUE) SSP: Single Superphosphate ,15-15-15: N2 P2O5 K2O compound fertilizer BC: Broadcast at 13 kg P/ha, HP: hill placed at 4 kg P/ha; PUE: P use efficiency kg yield/kg P applied

20. Farmers managed trials at Karabedji, 2002 rainy season

21. Millet grain yield response to P and manure applied at different rates, Banizoumbou, Niger, 2002 rainy season

22. Optimum combinations of Inorganic and Organic at Gaya and Karabedji, Niger,2002.

23. Fertilizer equivalency of manure at Banizoumbou, Niger, 2002 cropping season

24. Cowpea grain yield response to P and manure applied at different rates and methods, Karabedji, Niger, 2002 rainy season

25. Long term effect of fertilizer, CR and soil physical management on pearl millet grain yield, Sadore, 1998-2002

26. Partnerships

27. Networking • To exchange information and combine collective experience of professionals in the same field • To achieve economies of scale and efficiency by concentrating scarce human, financial and other resources on key national and regional problems • To minimize duplication • Provide increase bargaining power with external partners • Joint capacity building

28. African Network of the Soil Biology and Fertility Institute (AfNet) • Established in 1988 • Single most important implementing agent of • TSBF programme • Network of scientists collaborating with NGOs • in Africa (120 from NARS, 70 from Universities) • Individual membership with 157 male scientists • and 33 female scientists, very few Social • Scientists

29. AfNet Overall Goal To strengthen and sustain stakeholder capacity to generate, share and apply soil fertility management knowledge and skills to contribute to the welfare of farming communities

30. AfNet

32. Network Experiments • Key research themes of regional/ international importance (benchmarks and satellites) • Use of standard methods • Extrapolation of research results through DSS, GIS and modeling

33. Research topics addressed in the network trials in 2002/3 • Long-term Soil Fertility Management • Optimum Management of Low Quality Organic Resources • Optimum N and P Management in Legume-cereal Rotations

34. Research topics… • Optimum Combination of Organic and Inorganic Nutrient Sources • Scaling up/ out soil fertility restoration technologies • Improving manure management • Farmer empowerment to combat land degradation

35. Research topics… • Below-ground biodiversity • Conservation tillage • Biological nitrogen fixation • Use of PR as a capital investment to replenish soil fertility

36. Sadore**, Banizoumbou** Karabedji**, Gaya**, Gobery** (ICRISAT) 2 4 Farakou-Ba**, Kouare** (INERA) IRAD, University of Yaounde 8 1 Koulikoro**, Fana** Niono (ICRISAT, IER) University of Kisangani 9 Ndere dance Troupe Makerere university NARO 10 University of Abidjan-Cocody Lamto** 5 7 Kumasi** 6 11 Egerton university, Nairobi university, KAR-KEFRI-ICRAF Lome** 3 12 Zaria** AfNet participating countries and research sites Mlingano, Sokoine university 17 Chitedze 16 FOFIFA • Uganda • Kenya • Tanzania • Zambia • Zimbabwe • South Africa • Madagascar • ** Established 2002 • Mali • Niger • Nigeria • Burkina Faso • Cote D’Ivoire • Ghana • Togo • Cameroon • Congo (DR) 13 Misamfu Research Centre, Chilanga 14 University of Zimbabwe 15 University of Witwatersrand University of Fort Hare

37. The Way Forward • Restructuring AfNet to be a cornerstone network in soil research for Africa • Strengthening AfNet to pursue its role in process research on soil biology and fertility

38. The Way Forward… • Contributing towards the development of methodologies for scaling up and reaching out soil fertility restoration technologies • Building capacity of stakeholders through relevant research and training activities and information dissemination

39. Reaching the Millions? Best bet technologies ? ? Research Capacity building Delivery Scaling up, out, down? Missing links?