Integrated soil fertility management program = Programa de manejo integrado de la fertilidad del suelo

Abstract

Soil fertility depletion is a major constraint to food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)1 and Central America. To achieve sustainable investments in soil fertility management, CIAT's ISFM Program adopted a paradigm known as "Integrated Soil Fertility Management";. This is defined as: A set of soil fertility management practices that necessarily include the use of fertilizer, organic inputs, and improved germplasm, combined with knowledge on how to adapt these practices to local conditions, and aiming to maximize agronomic use efficiency of the applied nutrients and thus crop productivity. All inputs are managed, using sound agronomic principles. During recent years, the ISFM Program has improved livelihoods of rural families in targeted impact zones by developing ISFM-based crop production systems. These systems are profitable, socially just, nutrient dense, and resilient. The Program also created the environment to enable their adoption.