United States
£ GBP
With growing population and food security risks, there is an urgent need to increase sustainable agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Agro-Ecological Intensification of Agricultural Systems in the African Highlands addresses the issue of agricultural intensification in the humid highland areas of Africa. Its framework is built on the activities carried out during the last six years in the Great Lakes Region through the Consortium for Improving Agriculture-based Livelihoods in Central Africa, but expanded to include views and contributions from the international scientific community, particularly Europe, North America and Australia.
In addition to introductory and synthesis chapters, Agro-Ecological Intensification of Agricultural Systems in the African Highlands focuses on four themes: system components required for agricultural intensification; the integration of components at the system level; drivers for adoption of technologies towards intensification; and the dissemination of complex knowledge. It provides case studies of improved crop and soil management for staple crops such as cassava and bananas, as well as examples of how the livelihoods of rural people can be improved.
1. Sustainable Intensification and the Food Security Challenge
2. Paradigm Change for African Agriculture: Why and How to Make the Transition
3. Below- and Above-ground Organic Inputs and the Sustainability of Agriculture: Productivity and Supply of Ecosystem Services
4. CIALCA Interventions for Productivity Increase of Cropping System Components in the African Great Lakes Zone
5. Mitigating the Impact of Biotic Constraints to Musa production in Centra Africa
6. Do Commercial Biological and Chemical Products Increase Crop Yields and Economic Returns under Smallholder Farmer Conditions?
7. Enhanced Utilization of Biotechnology Research and Development Innovations in Eastern and Central Africa
8. Production of Virus-free Sweet Potato Planting MAterials Using Horticultural Fleece
9. Lessons from Upstream Soil Conservation Measures to Mitigate Soil Erosion and Improve Land Productivity in the Humid Highlands of Northwestern Ethiopia
10. Tradeoffs Analysis in the Design of Integrated Resource Management Strategies for Smallholder Farming Systems in the African Highlands
11. Farming Systems Research in the Great Lakes Region through the Consortium for Improving Agriculture-Based Livelihoods in Central Africa (CIALCA)
12. Trade Costs Reduction in the Congo Basin: Impact on Crop Land Expansion and Agricultural Productivity Growth
13. Using the 'Livestock Ladder' to Exit Poverty for Poor Crop-Livestock Farmers in South Kivu, Eastern DR Congo
14. N2Africa: Putting Nitrogen Fixation to Work for Smallholder Farmers in Africa
15. The 4R Nutrient Stewardship in the Context of Smallholder Agriculture in Africa
16. The Potential of Different Coffee Production Systems to Mitigate Climate Change
17. Drivers of Productivity Growth in Africa: Implications for Enhancing Adoption of Improved Technologies
18. Drivers of Technology Adoption in the Banana-Legume Systems in the East and Central Africa Region
19. The Agro-Ecological Solution? Food Security and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an Emphasis on the East African Highlands
20. Exploring the Scope of Fertilizer Use in the East African Region
21. Supply and Demand Drivers of Grain Legumes in Highlands of Central and Southern Africa: Implications for Targeting Agricultural Research Investments
22. Assessing Nutritional Diversity of Cropping Systems in Africa
23. Disseminating Agroforestry Innovations in Cameroon: Are Relay Organizations Effective?
24. Knowledge and Technology Transfer within an Evolving R4D Framework in East Africa
25. Walking the Impact Pathway: The CIALCA Experience in Mobilising Agricultural Knowledge for the African Great Lakes Region
26. Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) an Approach to Enhance Small-Holder Farmers’ Livelihood: Experiences from Lake Kivu Region
27. Communication Channels Used in Dissemination of Soil Fertility Management Practices in the Central Highlands of Kenya
28. A Global Information and Knowledge Sharing Approach to Facilitate the Use of MusaGenetic Resources
29. Targeting Farmer’s Priorities for Effective Agricultural Intensification in the Humid Highlands of Eastern Africa
30. Reintroducing Vicia Faba Beans in Resource-Poor Farming Systems – Adoption of a Participatory Farmer-Led Initiative
Bernard Vanlauwe is Principal Scientist in Integrated Soil Fertility Management at the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertily Programme of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (TSBF - CIAT), based in Nairobi, Kenya. Piet van Asten is a systems agronomist at IITA-Uganda working on sustainable intensification of perennial-based cropping systems (coffee, banana, cocoa) in Africa's humid zones, based in Kampala, Uganda. Guy Blomme is an Associate Scientist with Bioversity International, and is Assistant to the Regional Coordinator in Kampala, Uganda.
