Despite the many advantages of integrated soil fertility management, adoption rates in sub-Saharan Africa are among the lowest in the world, according to an article on the blog of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Insufficient capacity among agricultural extension agents, high labor requirements and lack of investment by governments are cited in the article as reasons for the low adoption.

Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) involves combining organic inputs with judicious amounts of inorganic fertilizer and improved seeds. The practice is more sustainable than the use of inorganic fertilizers alone and it can bring higher profits to farmers. It has also been shown to reduce climate-related production risks.

In an experiment in Malawi, all of the farmers who were offered incentives to take up ISFM if they planted agroforestry trees or adopted conservation agriculture responded. The article suggests that adoption of ISFM could be increased through training extension agents and promoting and providing subsidies for agroforestry.

Read the full story: Finding a middle ground: Incentivizing adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management