A Voice of America story in Laos Online looks at how improving the health of African soils will go a long way towards feeding the continent.

Researchers from Washington State University are promoting an agricultural system called ‘perenniation’ which combines food crops with trees and perennial plants.

African soils are depleted of nutrients and many farmers cannot afford to improve them with mineral fertilizers. Perenniation successfully replaces nutrients in the soil which are leached from cropping.

Soil scientist John Reganold explains that the term perenniation defines three systems that are already used in Africa; the oldest of which is Evergreen Agriculture where farmers plant trees alongside their crops.

While Evergreen Agriculture has already been practised by farmers in Africa for many years, it is now gaining widespread use in countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia. In these countries, trees are planted among with maize, millet or sorghum and they add nitrogen to the soil through their roots and leaf litter.

Perenniation mixes pigeon pea with soybean and maize crops; the pigeon pea adds nutrients and can also be used for fuel and fodder. It also uses perennials, such as Napier grass, which is grown around the maize, and desmodium, which is planted among the stalks. Desmodium pushes away the stem bore moth from the crops, while the Napier grass pulls or lures the moth to the perimeter of the crops.

Read the full story: Feed the Soil, Feed the Crops

Read more about Evergreen on the World Agroforestry Centre website and the Evergreen Agriculture website