This study examines the current and potential role of economics in soil productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. After examining the status of soil productivity and the contribution of conventional economic analyses, it considers more innovative approaches that enable economics to play a greater role in the planning and evaluation of soil productivity, enhancing measures at farm, national and global level. In the past economics has tended to focus on one factor at a time but many factors affect soil productivity. Decisions, policies and their impact call for a more integrative, participatory analytical approaches capable of weighing various aspects simultaneously. This study highlights how economics can respond to this challenge through the a[application of fresh concepts (e.g. natural capital) and specific techniques (e.g. multi-criteria analysis, green accounting).

In Soil Fertility Management in Agroecosystems, Editors Amitava Chatterjee and David Clay provide a thoughtful survey of important concepts in soil fertility management. For the requirements of our future workforce, it is imperative that we evolve our understanding of soil fertility. Agronomists and soil scientists are increasingly challenged by extreme climatic conditions. Farmers are experimenting with integrating cover crops into rotations and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. In other words, there is no such a thing as a simple fertilizer recommendation in today's agriculture. Topics covered include crop-specific nutrient management, program assessment, crop models for decision making, optimization of fertilizer use, cover crops, reducing nitrous oxide emissions, natural abundance techniques, tile-drained conditions, and soil biological fertility.

Agriculture is a crucial component of the economies of many of the countries in transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy and the sector is by no means immune to the environmental and socioeconomic problems confronting the countries as a whole. The concept of sustainable development provides a convenient framework for the formulation of government environmental policy for such countries, especially those of them that aspire to join the EU and would thus be expected to meet EU environmental standards. For agriculture, this inevitably involves appropriate strategies for balancing crop and animal production while protecting the quality of the national soil and water resources. There is thus an urgent need to compile, exchange and evaluate current information on the quality of soils in these countries, and to assess the potential impact of new management practices on the soil and on the wider environment.

This book elucidates the importance of long-term experiments in revealing evidence of soil fertility decline in Africa. An evaluation of experiences from on-going long-term experiments is given in broad detail. The first chapter explains the paradigm shift in soil fertility management then provides justification for long-term experiments before illuminating experiences from long-term experiments in East, West and Southern Africa. The second, sixth, eighth and ninth chapters give an in-depth account of crop management practices and soil fertility interventions in long-term trials within specific agro-ecological zones in West Africa. The rest of the chapters (chapter three, four, five and seven) address crop management, tillage practices and, organic and inorganic fertilizer applications in the context of long-term experiments in specific agro-ecological zones in East Africa.

With the use of high-level soil management technology, Africa could feed several billion people, yet food production has generally stagnated since the 1960s. No matter how powerful the seed technology, the seedling emerging from it can flourish only in a healthy soil. Accordingly, crop yields in Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean could be doubled or tripled through adoption of technologies based on laws of sustainable soil management. Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems describes the application of these laws to enhance ecosystem services while restoring degraded soils and promoting sustainable use. With chapters contributed by world-class soil scientists, ecologists, and social scientists, this book outlines critical changes in management of agricultural soils necessary to achieve food security and meet the food demands of the present and projected future population. These changes include conversion to no-till and conservation agriculture; adoption of strategies of integrated nutrient management, water harvesting, and use of drip sub-irrigation; complex cropping/farming systems such as cover cropping and agroforestry; and use of nano-enhanced fertilizers. The book is based on the premise that it is not possible to extract more from a soil than what is put into it without degrading its quality. The strategy is to replace what is removed, respond wisely to what is changed, and be pro-active to what may happen because of natural and anthropogenic perturbations. The chapters, which exemplify these ideas, cover a range of topics including organic farming, soil fertility, crop-symbiotic soil microbiota, human-driven soil degradation, soil degradation and restoration, carbon sink capacity of soils, soil renewal and sustainability, and the marginality principle.

This book brings together the essential evidence and policy opportunities regarding the global importance of soil carbon for sustaining Earth's life support system for humanity. Covering the science and policy background for this important natural resource, it describes land management options that improve soil carbon status and therefore increase the benefits that humans derive from the environment. Written by renowned global experts, it is the principal output from a SCOPE rapid assessment process project.

This report describes the extent of soil degradation, its bio-physical and socio-economic causes and macro- and micro-economic impacts. The causes behind the failure of soil conservation projects are analyzed. It also describes approaches for creating more favourable agro-political conditions.