Food security, one of the basic human rights, seems to be ever eluding the people of sub-Saharan Africa. With each occurrence of crop failure, agriculturalists around the world reawaken to the challenge of ensuring sta ble, adequate food production in the tropical African environments. The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), with its mandate of alleviating food shortages through judicial use of fertilizers, formulated a program to study fertilizer use strategies for sub-Saharan Africa. With gener ous financial assistance from the International Fund for Agricultural Devel opment (IFAD), IFDC, in collaboration with the International Crop Re search Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IIT A), initiated a research project aimed at assessing means to remedy soil nutrient deficiencies that constrain food production in the humid, subhumid, and semiarid tropics of Africa. The results of this project were summarized during a workshop held in Togo, March 25-28, 1985; the proceedings of that meetings are found in this vol ume. The project established collaboration with numerous national programs that were responsible for much of the data collection. The data presented in Chapters 6 and 9 include much of this information. We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the individual scientists, J.T. Ambe, F. Ganry, M. Gaoh, M. Issaka, J. Kiazolu, J. Kikafunde-Twine, K. Kpomblekou, F. Lompo, H.

Soil degradation and nutrient depletion have become serious threats to agricultural productivity in Africa. Soils cannot supply the quantities of nutrients required and yield levels decline rapidly once cropping commences. This book addresses these issues and includes papers from an international symposium held at Cotonou, Benin, October 9-12, 2000, organized by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria and the Department of Land Management of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. In five main parts it marks the end of a first phase of collaborative research on "Balanced Nutrient Management Systems for the Moist Savanna and Humid Forest Zones of Africa" and concludes with recommendations, providing essential reading for crop and soil scientists.

Food insecurity is a fundamental challenge to human welfare and economic growth in Africa. Low agricultural production leads to low incomes, poor nutrition, vulnerability to risk and threat and lack of empowerment. This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of agricultural research and development experiences from sub-Saharan Africa. The text highlights practical lessons from the sub-Saharan Africa region.