Download - icrisat

70
Translating: African governments have not been able to convince the private sector to invest in more productive
and diverse agriculture, in modern technologies to bring about higher productivity and further public growth.
Insight: The private sector has failed to see the opportunities for higher harvests and more products for more
markets.
Despite the surplus reserve of grains, food insecurity and child malnutrition in SAT Asia remain at
unacceptably high levels, both in favored and less-favored areas.
Translating: Even where there are food reserves, too many people suffer from lack of food and too many children
suffer from malnutrition everywhere.
Owing to the high levels of population growth and unequal
access to productive assets, the gains from productivity
growth in agriculture were not sufficient to bring down the
levels of poverty.
Translating: Where the population multiplies faster than the food
can be produced and farmers lack modern tools and cannot get
affordable credit, higher agriculture cannot lower the number of poor
people. Insight: Do we know which is the bigger problem: more
people or less access to inputs?
Agriculture and livelihoods in the SAT have evolved under the
influence of biotic (pest and disease incidences) and abiotic
constraints. The most binding abiotic constraints are related to
water scarcity and poor fertility of soils (largely related at present
to micronutrient deficiencies as N and P fertilizers are widely
used).
Translating: Agriculture in the dryland tropics has many enemies:
pests, diseases, water scarcity, infertile soils. The effects of the first
two can be mitigated; the occurrences of the last two can be
prevented. For instance, farmers must learn to supply their soils
with at least 7 micronutrients: boron, chlorine, copper, iron,
Translating:
African governments have not
been able to convince the
private sector to invest in more
productive and diverse
agriculture, in modern
technologies to bring about
higher productivity and further
public growth. Insight: The
private sector has failed to see
the opportunities for higher
harvests and more products for
more markets.
manganese, molybdenum, zinc, not simply the macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, sulfur. Insight: The current lab analysis for soil nutrients is only for detecting a few macronutrients.
Why neglect the trace elements?
Since water is vital for crop growth, the low and unreliable rainfall in the region for rainfed agriculture
makes drought management a key strategy for agricultural development.
Translating: Crops need water to grow. As humans need crops, humans must learn to manage water for their
society to grow. Insight: To manage the drought, we must manage the water.
To Catch An Insight