This specially curated collection features four reviews of current and key research on supporting cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa.
This specially curated collection features four reviews of current and key research on supporting cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa.
The first chapter reviews how research and development can support smallholder wheat farmers through improving access to resources and services. The chapter considers current obstacles faced by smallholder farmers, including biophysical limitations such as climatic issues, as well as socio-economic limitations such as land availability.
The second chapter assesses the importance of increasing the adoption rate of improved maize technologies within smallholder farming households across Africa. The chapter discusses the economic and institutional barriers inhibiting adoption, as well as farmer attitudes to innovation.
The third chapter describes the effect of poor soil fertility, drought and weeds on maize yields in West Africa. The chapter considers strategies for mitigating these constraints, including nutrient management using fertilizers, weed management and resistant varieties of maize.
The final chapter discusses phosphorus scarcity in areas of West Africa and details the need to improve sorghum breeding to enhance the crops tolerance to low-phosphorus soil conditions.
Chapter 1 - Supporting smallholders in improving wheat cultivation:
Tinashe Chiurugwi, Simon Kerr, Ian Midgley, and Lesley Boyd, National
Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), UK; Johnson Kamwaga, Food Crops
Research Centre - Njoro, Kenya; Peter Njau, Highlands Agri-consult Services
Ltd, Kenya; Terry Van Gevelt, University of Cambridge, UK; Claudia Canales
and Max Marcheselli, The Malaysian Centre for Commonwealth Studies (MCSC) and
the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT), UK; 1
Introduction: smallholder wheat cultivation 2 Limitations to smallholder
wheat cultivation 3 How research addresses limitations to smallholder wheat
cultivation 4 Case study: Agri-transfer 5 Future trends 6 Where to look for
further information 7 References
Chapter 2 - Constraints in adopting improved technologies for maize
cultivation: the case of Africa: T. Abdoulaye, The International Institute of
Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria; A. S. Bamire and A. A. Akinola, Obafemi
Awolowo University, Nigeria; and A. Alene, A. Menkir and V. Manyong, The
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria; 1
Introduction 2 Understanding farmers decisions on improved technology
adoption: the adoption theory 3 Adoption of improved maize technologies 4
Constraining factors in the adoption of improved maize technologies: economic
and institutional factors 5 Constraining factors in the adoption of improved
maize technologies: the importance of farmers characteristics and
perspectives 6 Strategies for improving the adoption of improved maize
technologies 7 Conclusion 8 Where to look for further information 9
References
Chapter 3 - Good agricultural practices for maize cultivation: the case of
West Africa: Alpha Kamara, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,
Nigeria; 1 Introduction 2 Poor soil fertility and effects of drought on maize
in West Africa 3 Weed competition with maize 4 Maize nutrient management 5
Weed management for maize cultivation 6 Management of soil moisture stress in
maize 7 Future trends and conclusion 8 Where to look for further information
9 References
Chapter 4 - Sorghum tolerance to low-phosphorus soil conditions: Willmar L.
Leiser, University of Hohenheim, Germany; H. Frederick Weltzien-Rattunde and
Eva Weltzien-Rattunde, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; and Bettina I.G.
Haussmann, University of Hohenheim, Germany; 1 Introduction 2 Phosphorus: a
worldwide future challenge 3 Breeding sorghum for low-P soil conditions 4
Plant adaptation to low-P conditions 5 Summary: implications for applied
sorghum breeding in West Africa 6 Future trends and challenges in bringing
benefits of sorghum low-P tolerance to West African farmers 7 Where to look
for further information 8 References
