A practical to cropping practices for food and fodder crops
Agricultural production has stagnated in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa because of a wide range of constraints. Land degradation and climate change stand out as key impediments to agriculture's contribution toward diminishing household food insecurity and poverty. Over time, the increasing prevalence of saline soils negatively affects the production potential of marginal areas. Similarly, inappropriate irrigation methods and seawater intrusion have made many countries vulnerable to soil salinity. At the same time, the decrease in available freshwater has become a major limiting factor facing the agricultural sector, especially in the dry regions. Continued sustainable cultivation of these areas is particularly challenging if farmers have limited know-how on the use of suitable salt-tolerant crops and their varieties, appropriate soil amendments, and associated crop management practices. These challenges are the major reasons for food and feed insecurity, malnutrition, and environmental degradation, besides the limited resource base in the marginal regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Strengthening crop production systems through crop diversification can diminish the impacts of climate change on communities.