Science for African Food Security
- 21 February 2003
- journal article
- policy forum
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 299 (5610), 1187-1188
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1081978
Abstract
Most Africans farm small plots of land that have the potential to feed one family and generate income but, until recently, seldom do. Low soil fertility and crop losses from pests and droughts have reduced harvests to below subsistence levels, and many families have remained in poverty, unable to pay for education or health care. Fortunately, their lives are now improving because of a science-based "Doubly Green Revolution" taking place in parts of Africa. It combines elements of ecological agriculture with crop varieties designed to perform well under low-input and stress conditions, uses inorganic inputs very judiciously, and engages farmers themselves in analyzing their needs and adapting new varieties and agronomic practices to their own conditions. Greater commitments and new partnerships are needed to sustain and expand this revolution in agriculture to small-scale farming families all across Africa.This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic mapping of a dominant gene conferring resistance to cassava mosaic diseaseTheoretical and Applied Genetics, 2002
- Soil Fertility and Hunger in AfricaScience, 2002
- Appropriateness of biotechnology to African agriculture: Striga and maize as paradigmsPlant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC), 2002
- Organic inputs for soil fertility management in tropical agroecosystems: application of an organic resource databaseAgriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2001
- Breeding for low input conditions and consequences for participatory plant breeding examples from tropical maize and wheatEuphytica, 2001
- Securing the harvest: biotechnology, breeding and seed systems for African cropsPublished by CABI Publishing ,2001
- Emergence, spread and strategies for controlling the pandemic of cassava mosaic virus disease in east and central AfricaCrop Protection, 1999
- The Doubly Green RevolutionPublished by Cornell University Press ,1999
- Soil phosphorus fractions and adsorption as affected by organic and inorganic sourcesPlant and Soil, 1998
- Low use of fertilizers and low productivity in sub-Saharan AfricaNutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 1996