Zambia’s small-scale farmers are even poorer today than they were 40 years ago. According to the 2010 Human Development Report, Zambia is one of just three nations whose development has fallen behind 1970 levels. And yet Zambia is one of Africa’s “lion states” with annual economic growth rates of more than 5 percent. It is not easy to explain such a contradiction, but a DIE study is drawing closer to ? nding an answer.

Not only has soil degradation in Niger been halted thanks to an integrated approach combining water harvesting technologies, the application of organic residues and planting of fruit trees and vegetables. The strategy has also enabled increases in farmers’ income as well as an active involvement of the country’s largely marginalised women in food production through their gaining access to land.

In response to the 2008 food crisis, Senegal developed an ambitious food self-sufficiency programme which aims to entirely cover national rice consumption needs with local rice by 2015, mainly through massive investments in existing and new rice perimeters in the Senegal River Valley (SRV). It has yet to be seen, however, how the projected rice production boom will reach urban markets, where the product is often unknown or misconstrued.

Soil carbon is important for soil structure and related nutrient and water holding properties. Increasing soil carbon stocks results in improved crop growth and contributes to enhanced climate resilience. In addition, the increase in soil organic carbon through sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices, such as the use of cover crops, residue management and agroforestry, will also reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertiliser at a given level of crop production.

Cassava is the main staple crop in many African countries, but the crops are threatened by two major diseases, the cassava mosaic virus disease and cassava brown streak virus, which in the last years have destroyed almost 80 percent of cassava harvests in Africa.

More than three times as much carbon is stored in soils across the world as it is in the atmosphere, making them one of the most important global carbon sinks. Therefore, processes impacting on the soil in which carbon is released, such as deforestation or agricultural activities, significantly contribute to climate change. The debate on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities and their consideration in the international climate negotiations has brought soils as carbon reservoirs more to the public eye.

Livestock intensification in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, may increase the incidence of epidemics that kill both humans and animals, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) warns. Livestock numbers are rising sharply due to population growth and the rise in affluence, as both factors lead to increased demand for milk, meat and eggs. 

Crop yield improvement is dearly needed in sub-Saharan Africa, but remarkably, African farmers do not adopt the available ‘Green Revolution’ fertiliser technologies. This has many reasons, a crucial one being soil properties.

Burkina Faso is already using all its possible farmland. In future the only way to feed the rapidly growing population will be by increasing yields on existing land. Building stone contour lines enables rainwater to be better used and slows erosion.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a natural resource management technology that has supporters and opponents. Evidence of the technology’s impacts is mixed. Recent research results from Timor Leste suggest that SRI can improve yields and incomes of smallholder farmers when proper extension systems are in place.

The years of war have led to a rapid decline in the nutritional status of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. To cover their protein requirements, the rural population in the Kivu region in the east of the country have turned to raising guinea pigs. For many families these rodents are nowadays not just a vital element of their food security, but also an essential source of income.

Although the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) plants in Africa has been relatively modest until now, a number of research and development projects in this field are already operating in several African countries. These involve breeding drought-tolerant, pest-resistant or nutrient-enriched maize, or cassava varieties with greater disease and pest resistance.