Sustainable intensification of food production through resilient farming systems in West & North Africa.

Objectives

SustInAfrica is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 research project started in 2020 which aims to empower West and North African smallholder farmers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate sustainable intensification of African farming systems, and to develop and deploy a reference framework on best agricultural practices and technologies.

Why this is important?

Large areas of agricultural land in West and North Africa are heavily degraded, with water scarcity, low soil fertility and poor plant health, due to use of unsuitable agronomic systems and inappropriate management. In West Africa, poor water, organic matter and nutrient retention limit food productivity, whilst in North Africa, salinisation, wind erosion, formation of crusts and compaction threaten rainfed cropland and silvopasture. The low food productivity, poor resilience and unsustainability of current approaches have severe socioeconomic and environmental consequences.