Transcript Problems, Progress and Partnerships

Combating Soil Fertility Degradation in
the Desert Margins of Africa
Problems, Progress and Partnerships
A. Bationo
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?
Soil Degradation in Africa
250
227
187
(million ha)
200
150
100
62
50
19
0
Water erosion
Wind erosion
Chemical
degradation
Other physical
degradation
Percentage decreases in soil fertility in
farmers’ fields under continuous cultivation in
the savanna zone of Nigeria
Zones
Ca
Mg
K
pH
Sudan
21
32
25
4
Northern Guinea
19
27
33
4
Southern Guinea
46
51
50
10
Annual losses rates of soil organic carbon
measured at farm level in WASAT
Site
Clay +
Annual losses
silt (%)
(K) (%)
Bambay
3
7
Saria (non eroded)
12
2
Saria eroded
19
6
Growth rate of millet 1979-1994
Country
Area
Yield (%)/ yr
(%)/ yr
Production
Production/ hbt
(%)/ yr
(%)/ yr
WA
4.7
- 0.4
4.2
1.2
Mali
5.1
- 1.0
4.0
2.3
Niger
3.9
- 1.0
2.8
- 1.3
Nigeria
7.7
- 2.3
5.2
2.2
B.F
3.8
2.0
5.9
3.0
Greater Yield Increase Due to Land Expansion
than to Crop Improvement Potential
Crops
Area
Yield
Production
Cassava
2.6
0.7
3.3
Maize
0.8
0.2
1.0
Yam
7.2
0.4
7.6
Cowpea
7.6
-1.1
6.5
Soybean
-0.1
4.8
4.7
Plantain
1.9
0.0
2.0
Based on three-year average for 1988-1990 and 1998-2000. FAO database.
The Yield Gap From Station and On-farm Fields
4500
Derived Savanna
4000
-1
Grain yield (t ha )
3500
3000
Farmer
2500
Researcher
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Maize
Soybean
Cowpea
N,P,K Application Versus Loss in Africa
5.0
Million tons per year
4.5
Loss
Applied
4.4
4.0
3.5
3.0
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
0.8
1.0
0.5
0.3
0.5
0.2
0.0
N
P
Nutrients
K
Fertilizer Prices 1998/99 -- DAP
Location
USA (Kansas)
Pakistan
Bangladesh
South Africa
Central Ethiopia
C. Kenya
Malawi
Uganda
Price per ton ($)
260
283
286
348
350
415
470
550
Integrated Nutrient Benefits
Total millet dry matter yield as affected by long-term
application of crop residues and fertilizer, Sadore, Niger
Control
Dry matter / N applied (kg kg )
9000
-1
8000
-1
Total millet dry matter (kg ha )
Crop residues
Fertilizer
Crop residues + fertilizer
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
Year
1992
1994
1996
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
without
crop
residues
with crop
residues
Sources of Organic Matter
Residues
Oil palm
Imperata
Manure
Integrated Soil Fertility Management Strategy
Integrated
Pest
Management
Soil Conservation
Water Management
ISFM
Resilient Germplasm
/Fertilizer(org+Inorg)
Ecosystem
Services
Strategies ISFM
Enabling
policies
ISFM
Market/Seed/Fertilizer
Farmer
participation
Water use (WU), grain yield (GY) and water use
efficiency (WUE) for millet in Niger
Treatments
SADORE
DOSSO
GY
WUE
GY
WUE
- Fertilizers
460
1.25
780
2.04
+Fertilizers
1570
4.14
1700
4.25
Improved soil fertility enhances the water use efficiency of
crops in the Sahel
Grain response to N levels at degraded and nondegraded sites
3000
0N (N D )
0N (D )
Grain yield
2500
60N (N D )
60N (D )
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
15 P
P rate
30 P
N and P use efficiency at Karabedji, Niger 1998-2002
N itrogen
( N ) at 6 0
Degraded
N on-degraded
Phosphorus
( P) at 3 0
8 .6
1 5 .3
Degraded
50
N on-degraded
58
Farmers managed trials at Gaya, 2002 rainy season
Treatments
Millet grain
yield
(kg/ha)
Millet TDM
yield
(kg/ha)
1=farmers’
practices
280
1419
2=NPK HP
573
2309
3=DAP HP
423
1832
4=PRT+NPK HP
736
2775
SE
10
25
NPK: 15-15-15 compound fertilizers
DAP: Diammonium phosphate
HP: hill placement at 4 kg P/ha
PRT: Tahoua Phosphate rock broadcast at 13 kg P/ha
Effect of P sources and placement on cowpea
yield and P use efficiency (PUE)
Treatments
P sources and
methods of
placement
Control
Cowpea
Fodder
(kg/ha)
PUE
(kg/kg P)
1688
SSP (bc)
2375
134
PRK (BC)
2469
141
PRK (BC) + 15-1515 (HP)
3688
180
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
Farmers managed trials at Karabedji, 2002 rainy season
Treatments
Millet grain
yield
(kg/ha)
237
Millet TDM
yield
(kg/ha)
2129
632
3244
3=DAP HP
582
3089
4=PRT+NPK HP
854
3868
8
26
1=farmers’
practices
2=NPK HP
SE
NPK: 15-15-15 compound fertilizers
DAP: Diammonium phosphate
HP: hill placement at 4 kg P/ha
PRT: Tahona Phosphate rock broadcast at 13 kg P/ha
Millet grain yield response to P and manure applied at different
rates, Banizoumbou, Niger, 2002 rainy season
1800
1600
Millet grain yield (kg/ha)
1400
1200
1000
800
0t/ha manure
600
2t/ha manure
4t/ha manure
400
200
0
0
13
P rates (kg P/ha)
26
Grain yield (kg/ha)
Optimum combinations of Inorganic and Organic at Gaya and
Karabedji, Niger,2002.
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Karabedji
Gaya
100
75
50
25
0 Inorg/
Inorg/ 0 Inorg/ Inorg/ Inorg/ 100 Org
Org
25 Org Treatment
50 Org 75 Org
Fertilizer equivalency of manure at Banizoumbou,
Niger, 2002 cropping season
Parameters
Grain (kg/ha)
Total dry
matter (kg/ha)
N FE (%) at 2t/ha of manure
25
41
N FE (%) at 4t/ha of manure
77
52
P FE (%) at 2t/ha of manure
136
113
P FE (%) at 4t/ha of manure
92
75
Cowpea grain yield response to P and manure applied at different
rates and methods, Karabedji, Niger, 2002 rainy season
Cowpea grain yield (kg/ha)
1200
1000
800
600
400
control
200
6t/ha broadcast
6t/ha hill place d
0
0
6,5
P rates (kg P/ha)
13
Long term effect of fertilizer, CR and soil physical
management on pearl millet grain yield, Sadore, 1998-2002
3000
traditional
P+HC+sole crop+CR+N+rotation
P+AT+intercropping+CR+N+rotation
Millet grain yield (kg/ha)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
947
956
979
1289
Environmental mean (kg/ha)
1509
Partnerships
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
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
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
No. of Scientists
AfNet
210
195
180
165
150
135
120
105
90
75
60
45
30
15
0
200
101 from East and Central Africa
68 from Southern Africa
31 from West Africa
80
48
51
93-95
96-98
35
23
10
<89
89-90
91-92
99-00
>02
Year
AfNet member registrations since inception
(1988)
AfNet participating countries, 2003
East and Central Africa
1.
Uganda (28)
2.
Kenya (55)
3.
Tanzania (11)
4.
Rwanda (1)
5.
Burundi (9)
6.
Ethiopia (2)
7.
DRC (8)
22
8.
Madagascar (1)
21
Southern Africa
9.
Zambia (12)
10. Malawi (1)
11. Zimbabwe (14)
12. South Africa (5)
West Africa
13. Mali (2)
14. Niger (1)
15. Nigeria (6)
16. Burkina Faso (4)
17. Cote D’Ivoire (4)
18. Ghana (4)
19. Togo (1)
20. Cameroon (5)
21. Sierra Leone (1)
22. Senegal (2)
23. Benin (2)
13
14
16 23 15
17 18 19
20
6
7
5
9
4
1
2
3
10
11
8
12
Number in parenthesis represent the number of
AfNet participants in the particular country
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
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 Legumecereal Rotations
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
Research topics…
 Below-ground biodiversity
 Conservation tillage
 Biological nitrogen fixation
 Use of PR as a capital investment to
replenish soil fertility
4
Koulikoro**,
Fana** Niono
(ICRISAT, IER)
2
Farakou-Ba**,
Kouare** (INERA)
Sadore**, Banizoumbou**
Karabedji**, Gaya**, Gobery** (ICRISAT)
IRAD, University of Yaounde
8
1
University of Kisangani
9
10
University of
Abidjan-Cocody
Lamto**
Ndere dance Troupe
Makerere university
NARO
5
Kumasi**
7
6
11
Lome**
AfNet participating countries and
research sites
3
12
Zaria**
17 Chitedze
Egerton university,
Nairobi university,
KAR-KEFRI-ICRAF
Mlingano,
Sokoine university
16
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Mali
Niger
Nigeria
Burkina Faso
Cote D’Ivoire
Ghana
Togo
Cameroon
Congo (DR)
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Uganda
Kenya
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Madagascar
** Established 2002
13
14
15
FOFIFA
Misamfu Research
Centre, Chilanga
University of Zimbabwe
University of Witwatersrand
University of Fort Hare
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
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
Reaching the Millions?
Best bet technologies
?
Research
?
Delivery
Capacity
building
Scaling up, out, down? Missing links?
IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH
PARTNERSHIP
COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMMES
AHI SoilFertNet ANAFE DMP SWMNet
ECABREN and IAEA
TSBF Networks
AfNet SARNet MIS BGBD
TSBF
CORE
SCIENCE
PROGRAMME