Maintaining soil health in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has a wide variety of natural ecosystem resources, including soils, vegetation, water and genetic diversity. However, land degradation in SSA is intensifying at an alarming rate, and this region has the lowest agriculture and livestock yields of any region in the world. This is accompanied by the world’s highest rates of deforestation and malnutrition. This chapter focuses on land degradation and will examine the different types of land degradation as well as their ecological, economic and social consequences. It also addresses the relationships between soil quality, soil health (SH) and food security, and then reviews strategies for maintaining SH.