Declining soil fertility in sub-Saharan Africa needs action

Soils in sub-Saharan Africa are declining significantly, posing a major risk to food security.

Modern Ghana reports on a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss this issue and develop a joint research project for the region to help mitigate the impact of climate change on soil fertility.

Participants at the workshop undertook a mapping study to review the current status of soil and land-use management in different African countries. This demonstrated the need for an extensive monitoring program to determine the impact of climate change on soil fertility, soil moisture and land degradation.

A decline in soil fertility together with erosion, water scarcity and inappropriate farming practices are seen as major challenges to food production in sub-Saharan Africa..

Titled: Advancing Integrated Soil and Water Management for Climate-Adapted Land Use in Low-Fertility Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, the workshop was organized by the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) in partnership with the World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) and Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany.

Read the full story: Soil Fertility Decline in Sub-Saharan Africa Prompts Climate Adaptation Project