Challenges to Soil Protection and Sustainable Management in Africa

Abstract

The chapter focuses on soil protection, sustainable soil management and the challenges facing the implementation of sustainable soil management in Africa. Over 90% of cultivated lands in Africa occur in areas deemed unsuitable for crop production. These soils are experiencing increasing pressure from high population growth to provide food for its people. Inappropriate cultivation practices coupled with high rural poverty have contributed to severe land degradation throughout the continent. Inadequate capacity, knowledge and experience, lack of education and awareness, lack of economic motivation for implementation of sustainable soil management (SSM), the need to institutionalize systems, inadequate information (data base) for implementation of SSM, policy and socio-cultural constraints are some of the challenges in implementing sustainable soil management SSM in Africa. Factors such as low rate of adoption of improved technologies, high rate of land degradation and ineffectiveness of some of the agricultural policies, inadequate infrastructure and low return to the farmer are contributory to the low growth rate in the agricultural sector. Food security is at risk, making the countries more dependent on food imports which provide no medium term solution to the country’s food insecurity problems. The land resources of the countries are being degraded at an alarming rate by soil erosion, nutrient depletion through crop harvests and exports without corresponding replacement of these nutrients by fertilizer use.