Feed the Soil, Feed the Crops
September 20, 2012
Using Evergreen Agriculture, Rhoda Mang’yana grows maize near Faidherbia trees to improve crop yields and soil fertility on her farm. (Credit: Jim Richardson)
If African farmers are going to feed the continent, they may first want to feed the soil. Studies show farmland is often depleted of vital nutrients. But researchers say a combination of organic farming methods may help.
Since the global food crisis several years ago, greater investment is being made in smallholder farms. Most of the farms in sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder, consisting of about one or two hectares. One of the goals is to boost yields without necessarily clearing more land to grow additional crops.
Washington State University researchers say that can happen with greater use of an agricultural system called perenniation. It mixes food crops with trees and perennial plants. Soil scientist John Reganold co-wrote an article about it in the journal Nature.
“This system that we call perenniation is one of those systems where you actually plant perennials and it increases both food security and it builds the soil at the same time,” he said.
There’s an old saying that you are what you eat. Plants need nourishment, too, and they get it from the soil.
He said, “One of the major problems is that the soils are fairly poor in most of the regions. And so how do you grow food on poor soils? There have to be food production systems that can build the soil and improve the yield.”
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