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Biochar, a powerfully circular way to fight climate change Africa faces a dual challenge: degraded soils and limited energy access. Over 40% of the continent’s soils have poor structure and low nutrient reserves, making them unable to retain water or fertilisers effectively. Most farmers can afford only 20 kg of fertiliser per hectare—well below the global average of 135 kg—and much of it is lost due to poor soil retention, driving up production costs and reducing yields. At the same time, 70% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa depends on biomass like firewood and charcoal for cooking, leading to deforestation and environmental degradation. These intertwined issues threaten national food security, energy sustainability, and climate resilience. Biochar offers a strategic, climate-smart solution that improves soil fertility, enhances fertiliser efficiency, reduces reliance on forest biomass, and captures carbon. Supporting biochar initiatives could strengthen agricultural productivity while meeting national climate and energy goals.
Solar-Powered, Cost-Effective, and Ecologically Smart BioFertilizer for Thriving Crops and Sustainable Agriculture To address challenges like climate-induced land degradation and the limited adoption of traditional composting, ABC Grower emerges as an innovative solution. With efficient and cost-effective fertilization, precise formulation for improved efficiency, solar-powered production, and economic valorization of weeds, ABC Grower aligns with the agroecological transition in West Africa, offering a sustainable response to evolving agricultural needs.
Rice-Fish System Boosts Profits, Enhances Lowland Land Use for Food Security and Prosperity The rice-fish farming system emerged as a solution to address various agricultural challenges. It was developed to counter widespread food and nutrition insecurity, the vulnerability of smallholder rice farmers to market shocks due to a lack of diversification, and environmental pollution resulting from excessive agrochemical use. This innovative approach not only enhances food and nutrition security but also boosts smallholder farmers' income through the combined sale of rice and fish. Additionally, the system promotes environmental safety by eliminating the need for agrochemicals, contributing to sustainable and resilient agricultural practices.
Empowering Beans, Sustaining Growth! The technology is a low-cost and sustainable solution for staking climbing beans, offering lower-cost, environmentally friendly alternatives, reducing the required number of stakes and addressing yield limitations associated with traditional staking methods.
Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Farming In regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where dry tropical conditions and diminishing soil fertility pose significant challenges to wheat production, the adoption of Minimal Tillage and Surface Mulching of Soils is paramount. Traditional farming practices, characterized by excessive tillage and minimal organic matter incorporation, have led to the degradation of crucial soil functions, including nutrient retention and water management. With dwindling water resources due to drought spells and overexploitation, Conservation Agriculture (CA) emerges as a cost-effective solution. CA enhances wheat grain yields, ensures resilience to water scarcity, and benefits both farmers' incomes and the environment by promoting soil biodiversity, reducing emissions, and sequestering carbon, making it a vital strategy for sustainable wheat production in dryland farming systems.
Smart Irrigation, Bountiful Harvests Furrow Irrigated Raised Bed Wheat Production is an efficient cultivation technique that optimizes water use in wheat farming. By creating raised beds and controlled furrows, this method reduces water consumption, improves soil moisture, and enhances crop productivity. It addresses the challenge of limited freshwater supply for agriculture, making it a crucial practice for dryland wheat cultivation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Growing Resilient Wheat, Even in the Hottest Seasons. The technology of "Expanded Production of Irrigated Wheat" is crucial due to the impact of heat stress on traditional wheat cultivation in the hot rainy seasons of Sub-Saharan Africa. The innovative approach involves growing wheat during the cool season (winter production) to circumvent heat-related crop damage. However, this necessitates the implementation of irrigation systems due to limited precipitation. The technology enables stable, high wheat grain yields and quality, promoting a climate-resilient food value chain and allowing wheat cultivation in non-traditional dryland areas. Successful implementation not only advances self-sufficiency but also reduces the need for expensive wheat imports in various key regions of Africa.
Harvest More, Worry Less with Sweet Potato-Legume Relay Intercropping Relay intercropping of sweet potato with legumes revolutionizes agriculture by increasing yields, optimizing land and resource use, and reducing pest damage. This method enhances soil nitrogen availability, promoting sweet potato tuber production while reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizers. It not only ensures a more nutritious diet for subsistence farmers but also safeguards against food shortages during crop failures caused by drought or pests.
CBT: Nurturing Crops, Conserving Soil, and Cultivating Resilience In dryland farming, having enough water is a big challenge. Changes in rain due to climate change can risk our food supply. To improve crop growth and strength in Africa’s dry areas, it’s important to catch as much rainwater as possible and reduce water running off the surface. The Contour Bunding Technique (CBT) uses small walls placed carefully along the curves of the field to create small water collection areas. These walls stop the water from running off, help catch more rain, store more water, allow water to sink deep into the ground, and prevent soil from washing away and ditches from forming. This is a simple but professional way to explain the concept.