The Smallholder Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa is facing severe problems of agricultural stagnation and decline, high population growth and degradation of the natural resource base. For example Kudakwase Murwira (1998) has characterised the smallholder agricultural sector of Zimbabwe as follows: 

• High environmental degradation especially in the communal areas.
• High population densities of more than 100 people per square kilometre.
• Local area of food deficits within a national surplus.
• Both inadequate and inappropriate research and extension services.
• Indigenous knowledge being grossly undervalued and underutilised.
• The presence of weak local institutions lacking ownership and control over productive resources.
• Weak resource base, for example, only less than 47% of the smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe have access to draught power and most households in communal areas are still relying heavily on a diminishing wood fuel resource base due to lack of access to alternative forms of energy.
• Higher frequency of droughts and increase in the reliance on rainfed crops.
• Poor access to a wide range of markets.
• Inappropriate energy conversion technologies for small scale productive activities especially as they relate to environment, gender and sustainable development.

Murwira (1998) further observed that despite an increase in a number of soil and water conservation measures formulated the extent and severity of soil erosion is still on the increase. Elwell (1994) has estimated that 50 metric tonnes of top soil are lost per hectare each year. Degraded soils are poor in organic matter and erode easily leaving the small holder farmer in a serious vicious cycle of poverty. 

In addition to the smallholder characteristics identified by Murwira (1998) one would hasten to add poor nutrient balances in the soils resulting from soil loss and crop harvests. 

The smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe use on average 18kg/ha. Even though this figure is well above the sub-Saharan smallholder average of 10kg/ha it is still far below the crop requirements that are usually more than 200kg/ha. The Large Scale Farmers in Zimbabwe on average use 290kg/ha. 

Socio-Economic and Institutional, Frame conditions affecting the adoption of technologies - using fertilizer as an example 

Since its establishment, ACFD has reconfirmed fertilizer use - benefits in Africa. Field trials conducted by NARS and international agencies such as FAO, Sasakawa Global 2000 were reviewed and fertiliser use constraint analysis has been conducted. 

The major findings are as follows : 

• Average fertiliser responses in trials and demonstrations were positive.
• Agri-input availability is the major constraint.
• Lack of business skills,product knowledge, and marketing infrastructure hinders the development of Agro Dealers.
• Improper logistics planning a major factor of high marketing costs.
• Grossly inadequate crop marketing facilities result in low income.
• Cropping systems are unsustainable and lead to low returns.
• Small Scale farmers want to get higher yields by applying higher doses of fertilisers.
• Availability of Agro entrepreneurs in rural areas is not a constraint.
• Industry has not paid due attention to fertiliser supply/promotion in rural markets.
• Government policies need to be more supportive to fertiliser use promotion and privatisation of Agri Marketing.
• Rural infrastructure is a major bottleneck in agri development in Africa.
• Quick adoption of liberalised marketing policies, particularly removal of subsidy has jeopardized the established market infrastructure in rural areas.

Mandate and Mission of ACFD 

The policy decision to establish a Centre for Research and Development on fertilizers, soil fertility, and related issues was taken at the First Economic Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) held in April 1980 in Lagos, Nigeria which adopted the "Lagos Plan of Action for Economic and Social Development" as well as the "Final Act of Lagos" which inter alia stated the importance of food and agriculture. 

The majority of sub-Saharan African countries on average use 10kg nutrients per hectare while crop requirements amount to 200kg nutrients per hectare. The world average is 99kg of plant nutrients per hectare. The African countries lag far behind the rest of the world in fertilizer consumption. The continent which has 14.5% of the world's population accounts for less than 2% of the world's fertilizer consumption. 

The consequences of low levels of fertilizer use are declining crop yields, and soil degradation. The mandate of ACFD is therefore to promote fertilizer consumption in African agriculture. 

The Objectives of ACFD are: 

• To serve as a Regional, Inter-governmental Centre to improve and stabilize agriculture, through promoting the production, distribution and use of fertilizers and other indigenous sources of plant nutrients.
• To support the fertilizer sector and make recommendations to Member States.
• To develop collaborative projects with national, regional and international organizations and organize meetings with African governments and businessmen concerned with fertilizer industry.
• To conduct, foster, and support training in all aspects of resource development, marketing and use of fertilizers, and other sources of soil nutrients.
• To conduct research on soil fertility management leading to sustainable agricultural production and protection of the environment.
• To undertake market research relating to marketing costs, pricing and other factors which deter the use of fertilizers, particularly in small scale farming sector.

The ultimate objective of ACFD in terms of the Lagos Plan of Action is to increase crop yields and farmer's incomes in rural Africa, to reduce widespread hunger and malnutrition and make an impact on rural poverty through facilitation of production, marketing and use of fertilizers. 

The strategic issues for ACFD are the facilitation of fertilizer supply and promotion of integrated soil fertility management involving the use of chemical fertilizers, indigenous agrominerals in association with organic materials, and yield-enhancing practices to improve the farmer's fields, income and the environment. 

The Research and development programme of ACFD is being carried out through development of partnerships and collaborative regional networks. Wherever possible, the networks are being developed in collaboration with national, regional, international research and development organization, non governmental organizations and private sector companies. 

ACFD's strategy has started programmes of action with emphasis on countries in the Eastern and SADC region, which will form the basis for models to be adapted for specific requirements in the other African countries. The networks for agribusiness development and integrated soil fertility management have started to form in Southern and Eastern Africa. 

ACFD Projects under Implementation 

Development of Drought Resistant Input Use Efficient Dwarf Maize Varieties 

ACFD in collaboration with the University of Zimbabwe and Africa University has developed and perfected drought resistant, dwarf maize hybrids which outyield conventional hybrid varieties by 40% under drought conditions. These varieties are tailor made to fit into communal area environments where marginal rainfall conditions and low levels of soil nutrients prevail. The use of these varieties together with farming methods that promote soil fertility and conservation should lead to bumper harvests even in poor rainfall years. 

The dwarf hybrid varieties vary less with climatic changes and therefore improve fertiliser and other input use by reducing risk. Farmers who have seen these varieties either in their own fields or at ACFD and Government Research Stations have shown a lot of interest. 

ACFD has already entered into agreements with Zimbabwe's Seed Companies to multiply and distribute the seed. The dwarf hybrid maize will also be marketed in other countries within and outside the region. Initial trials in Zambia have been very positive. Arrangements are underway to establish similar trials in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia. 

Agri-business entrepreneur development to promote Agri-Marketing in the Small Scale Farming sector 

ACFD in collaboration with CARE International has initiated a project to facilitate agri-inputs distribution through training dealers. In a pilot effort initiated in Masvingo and Midlands Provinces of Zimbabwe in October 1995 ACFD trained the dealers and CARE International provided logistical support and financial underwriting. The pilot is considered a great success. 50 trained dealers given logistical support and credit conducted business worth Z$7 million during the 1996/97 crop production season. 

In 1996 an evaluation was carried by a Senior Economist from the Ministry of Agriculture and these are some of the farmer perceptions observed in the evaluation. 

• it has made inputs more accessible in terms of both time and costs;
• it has significantly reduced the productive time wasted in sourcing inputs;
• savings are being realised on transport costs and these are being used for procuring more inputs;
• the project offers the convenience of purchasing inputs and when the need arises;
• it has enlightened farmers on the importance of fertiliser, improved seed and agro-chemicals on productivity;
• it trains farmers on input use and better farming methods.

With the support of the Government, (the private sector and donors) the project is being replicated nationwide. The project is expected to more than double 100,000 tons of fertilizer currently sold to small scale farmers and ultimately enhance agriculture production in the small scale farming sector. Arrangements are also underway to develop similar programmes in other Southern and Eastern African countries. 

ACFD's Sustainable Farming Initiative 

The desire to increase crop yields and protect the environment are not considered conflicting objectives in the ACFD research and development mission which aims to increase crop productivity through integrated farming systems designed to meet the multiple goals of the farmer such as enhancement of food security, nutritional balance, cash incomes and protection of the environment from all forms of degradation. 

Realising that water and plant nutrients are the main factors limiting crop performance in Africa, the management system is designed to maximise water and soil conservation and efficient utilization. In this system crops are grown under zero tillage in strips as suggested by Dr Henry Elwell but such that there is flexibility to include perennial and arrange crop species to benefit each other as enshrined in the Permaculture concepts. Maximisation of cash incomes for the farmer is a very important consideration in the ACFD sustainable farming system. Another major departure from Dr Elwells no till strip cultivation philosophy is the use of inorganic fertilizers to improve soil nutrient balances which are very weak in sub-Saharan Africa. Each crop species included in the integrated farming must meet at least two of the goals of the farmer. ACFD has set up demonstrations at its Headquarters and also in Zimbabwes communal lands. The following crops have so far been included in the system maize, finger millet, sorghum, cowpeas, beans, bambara nuts, pigeon peas, sunflower, ground nuts, castor oil, jatropha, pumpkin and velvet beans. 

The zero tillage and management practices recommended by Brian Oldreive (1993) have naturally played a great role in the development of the system. The conservation tillage, time management and planning components have many advantages for achieving higher yields, stabilisation of the soil by controlling soil erosion and enhancing soil fertility. 

The farming system takes advantage of genetic improvement or other technologies that enhance crop performance such as conservation tillage. The development of dwarf maize varieties at ACFD is a good example. These are more efficient in the way they use water and plant nutrients. The big attribute of the dwarf maize is the drought resistance. In addition since the plants do not grow tall they are less competitive for plant nutrients and light with other crop species. The interest of the farmers in ACFDs dwarf maize and sustainable farming system has been overwhelming. The farmers appear to be particularly attracted by the opportunity to earn good cash incomes from the farming systems. ACFD plans to collaborate with other interested organizations to set up more demonstration trials in Zimbabwe and in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. In its holistic approach, the ACFD is in the process of linking the Integrated Farming and Agribusiness Development initiatives to the agro marketing and processing activities. This will further enhance rural incomes, employment and trade. 

Conclusion: Holistic approaches for Soil Fertility Improvement 

Trials and demonstrations on farmers fields have shown that yields can be increased by large margins in much of sub-Saharan Africa by proper fertilization and other technologies such as conservation tillage. The challenge is now to progressively improve the availability and accessibility of fertilizers and other technologies to the small scale farming communities. 

Each additional tonne of fertilizer used should boost grain yield by 10 tonnes under normal circumstances. However under marginal rainfall conditions, each additional tonne of fertilizer used should boost grain yield by 3 tonnes Experiments have shown that conservation tillage enhances the grain yield by a large margin. 

Benefits from improvement in input distribution would therefore be greater if coupled with crop management systems that promote fertilizer use efficiency. Agriculture needs to be profitable. It is well known that decline in soil organic matter leads to soil degradation resulting in weak fertilizer responses eroding profitability. This underlines the importance of holistic approaches involving improved nutrient supply adoption of farming systems that emphasize building of soil organic matter content and plant breeding for stress environments. 

References 

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