Around 65 per cent of Africa’s arable land is too damaged to sustain viable production, according to a report by the Montpellier Panel, an eminent group of agriculture, ecology and trade experts from Africa and Europe.

An article in Inter Press Service outlines how the report states that Africa suffers from the triple threat of land degradation, poor yields and a growing population.

The report, titled No Ordinary Matter: conserving, restoring and enhancing Africa’s soil, recommends that African governments and donors invest in land and soil management and create incentives to encourage better management of farm land.

Moses Tenywa, soil expert and professor of agriculture at Makerere University in Uganda, reiterates the need for smallholder farmers to receive incentives to carry out soil and water conservation. This is particularly the case for farmers with little money and fragile land tenure.

Tenywa explains how climate-smart agriculture practices, such as agroforestry, conversation agriculture, crop diversification and mulching, promote soil health.

“The use of simple and appropriate tools that suits the smallholders’ system and pocket should be explored,” said Wole Fatunbi, development expert with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

He believes soil health is critical to enhancing the productivity of Africa’s agriculture, a major source of employment and a huge contributor to GDP

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that one third of all soils, on which food production depends, are degraded as a result of human pressure.

Read the full story: More Than Half of Africa’s Arable Land ‘Too Damaged’ for Food Production