Ibadan, Nigeria
June 20, 2012

The push for a “Green Revolution” in Africa to increase agricultural production for food and economic development will not bear much fruit if adequate attention is not paid to managing soil fertility in the continent, says Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

“Solid soil fertility management is key… For cassava commercialization and our Green Revolution, we need to use fertilizers― organic and inorganic― alongside the high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties,” says Sanginga.

Across Africa, current application of soil nutrient, whether organic or inorganic fertilizers, is estimated at 8 kg/ha. Researchers say the amount is low, and it is one of the major setbacks to the continent’s vision of adequately feeding itself.

The African Union accepts this verdict and has called on countries in the continent to increase application of soil nutrients to 50 kg/ha of nutrients combining both organic and inorganic fertilizers.

Addressing participants at the Global Cassava Partnership in Kampala which ends on Friday, Dr. Sanginga says Africa cannot achieve a Green Revolution without first having a ‘Brown Revolution’—a term he used referring to the improvement of soil conditions through the application of organic and inorganic fertilizers.

While acknowledging that much investment had gone into developing high-yielding cassava varieties that are resistant to some of the major pests and diseases, the IITA DG says the gains achieved in the breeding work cannot be realized if these varieties are grown on poor soils.

He said it was unfortunate that cassava had been tagged for many years as a poor man’s crop that does not require much input such as fertilizers. He argued that the crop harvests as much nutrients from the soil as other crops and that these nutrients need to be replenished.

“Nutrient use in cassava has been very minimal as it is considered a poor man’s crop. However, if we are talking about cassava transformation, about increasing cassava production not only for food but also for commercial use, we must change these wrong perceptions. If we think of growing cassava in soils that are too poor for other crops such as maize,” he said, “then, we are missing the other half of the equation.”

“Soil fertility is one of the missing links in the struggle to commercialize cassava. For now entrepreneurs involved in cassava processing are saying that there isn’t enough cassava, whereas famers, on the other hand, are saying that there are no markets.”

Dr Sanginga said the African population has been rising rapidly requiring increased production to feed additional mouths. However, increasing population has also been leading to a shortage of land to expand production; therefore the continent has to intensify its production.

Cassava production supports more than 25% of farming households in sub-Saharan Africa, equivalent to over 100 million people. Overall, over 60% of the world’s cassava is grown in the continent yet the yields are very low, averaging 10 tons/ha compared to over 40 tons/ha achieved in Asia and Latin America where the crop is grown for commercial use.

The Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21) conference is taking place on 18–22 June 2012 in Kampala, Uganda. GCP21 consists of 45 member institutions working on research and development of cassava, a staple crop relied on by more than 700 million people worldwide. The ultimate goal of the partnership is to improve cassava productivity through scientific research and development.

The conference participants include representatives from NARS, international agricultural research centers, advanced laboratories and universities from developed and developing countries, United Nations’ agencies, governmental and non-governmental organizations, donor and development organizations, businesses in the ag-biotechnology and food processing industries.

Website: http://www.iita.org

Published: June 20, 2012