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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDnpj Sustainable Agriculture

Fertilizer and soil health for sustained crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and conceptual framework

  • Bernard Vanlauwe1
  • Tilahun Amede2
  • Prem Bindraban3
  • Rémi Cardinael4,5,6
  • Antoine Couëdel7,6
  • Marc Corbeels7,1,6
  • Achim Dobermann8
  • Oluwole Fatunbi9
  • Gatien N. Falconnier4,10,5,6
  • K.E. Giller11
  • Rebbie Harawa12
  • Mercy Kamau13
5 more authors
  • Roel Merckx14
  • Johan Six15
  • Zachary Stewart16
  • M.K. van Ittersum11
  • Shamie Zingore17
17 affiliations
  1. 1International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nairobi, Kenya
  2. 2Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Nairobi, Kenya
  3. 3Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Blvd Francois Mitterand, 01 BP, 4029, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
  4. 4Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique Pour le Développement (CIRAD), Harare, Zimbabwe
  5. 5University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
  6. 6Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
  7. 7CIRAD, Montpellier, France
  8. 8International Fertilizer Association (IFA), Paris, France
  9. 9Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Accra, Ghana
  10. 10International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Harare, Zimbabwe
  11. 11Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, the Netherlands
  12. 12International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Nairobi, Kenya
  13. 13Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University, Nairobi, Kenya
  14. 14Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
  15. 15Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich), Zürich, Switzerland
  16. 16International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Accra, Ghana
  17. 17African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), Ben Guerir, Morocco
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Abstract

Soil health is the capacity to support the production of food, feed, and fiber while delivering other essential ecosystem services. We suggest key soil health indicators and examine the three-way interactions between mineral fertilizer, crop productivity, and soil health. Given the long history of soil nutrient depletion in Sub-Saharan Africa, we conclude that mineral fertilizer use, as a core component of integrated soil fertility management, must increase and be co-applied with organic inputs to increase productivity and fertilizer use efficiency and restore and sustain soil health.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{vanlauwe2026fertilizer,
  title = {{Fertilizer and soil health for sustained crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and conceptual framework}},
  author = {Bernard Vanlauwe and Tilahun Amede and Prem Bindraban and Rémi Cardinael and Antoine Couëdel and Marc Corbeels and Achim Dobermann and Oluwole Fatunbi and Gatien N. Falconnier and K.E. Giller and Rebbie Harawa and Mercy Kamau and Roel Merckx and Johan Six and Zachary Stewart and M.K. van Ittersum and Shamie Zingore},
  journal = {npj Sustainable Agriculture},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1038/s44264-026-00161-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-026-00161-w},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Fertilizer and soil health for sustained crop production in sub-Saharan Africa: Theory and conceptual framework
AU  - Bernard Vanlauwe
AU  - Tilahun Amede
AU  - Prem Bindraban
AU  - Rémi Cardinael
AU  - Antoine Couëdel
AU  - Marc Corbeels
AU  - Achim Dobermann
AU  - Oluwole Fatunbi
AU  - Gatien N. Falconnier
AU  - K.E. Giller
AU  - Rebbie Harawa
AU  - Mercy Kamau
AU  - Roel Merckx
AU  - Johan Six
AU  - Zachary Stewart
AU  - M.K. van Ittersum
AU  - Shamie Zingore
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/29
JO  - npj Sustainable Agriculture
DO  - 10.1038/s44264-026-00161-w
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-026-00161-w
AB  - Soil health is the capacity to support the production of food, feed, and fiber while delivering other essential ecosystem services. We suggest key soil health indicators and examine the three-way interactions between mineral fertilizer, crop productivity, and soil health. Given the long history of soil nutrient depletion in Sub-Saharan Africa, we conclude that mineral fertilizer use, as a core component of integrated soil fertility management, must increase and be co-applied with organic inputs to increase productivity and fertilizer use efficiency and restore and sustain soil health.
SN  - 2731-9202
ER  -