Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data
Poor and variable crop responses to fertilizer applications constitute a production risk and may pose a barrier to fertilizer adoption in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Attempts to measure response variability and quantify the prevalence of non-response empirically are complicated by the fact that data f...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Springer
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116086 |
| _version_ | 1855530766122876928 |
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| author | Nziguheba, G. Heerwaarden, Joost van Vanlauwe, Bernard |
| author_browse | Heerwaarden, Joost van Nziguheba, G. Vanlauwe, Bernard |
| author_facet | Nziguheba, G. Heerwaarden, Joost van Vanlauwe, Bernard |
| author_sort | Nziguheba, G. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Poor and variable crop responses to fertilizer applications constitute a production risk and may pose a barrier to fertilizer adoption in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Attempts to measure response variability and quantify the prevalence of non-response empirically are complicated by the fact that data from on-farm fertilizer trials generally include diverse nutrients and do not include on-site replications. The first aspect limits the extent to which different studies can be combined and compared, while the second does not allow to distinguish actual field-level response variability from experimental error and other residual variations. In this study, we assembled datasets from 41 on-farm fertilizer response trials on cereals and legumes across 11 countries, representing different nutrient applications, to assess response variability and quantify the frequency of occurrence of non-response to fertilizers. Using two approaches to account for residual variation, we estimated non-response, defined here as a zero agronomic response to fertilizer in a given year, to be relatively rare, affecting 0–1 and 7–16% of fields on average for cereals and legumes respectively. The magnitude of response could not be explained by climatic and selected topsoil variables, suggesting that much of the observed variation may relate to unpredictable seasonal and/or local conditions. This implies that, despite demonstrable spatial bias in our sample of trials, the estimated proportion of non-response may be representative for other agro-ecologies across SSA. Under the latter assumption, we estimated that roughly 260,000 ha of cereals and 3,240,000 ha of legumes could be expected to be non-responsive in any particular year. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace116086 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1160862025-11-11T10:35:21Z Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data Nziguheba, G. Heerwaarden, Joost van Vanlauwe, Bernard cereals fertilizers legumes food security subsaharan africa on-farm research Poor and variable crop responses to fertilizer applications constitute a production risk and may pose a barrier to fertilizer adoption in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Attempts to measure response variability and quantify the prevalence of non-response empirically are complicated by the fact that data from on-farm fertilizer trials generally include diverse nutrients and do not include on-site replications. The first aspect limits the extent to which different studies can be combined and compared, while the second does not allow to distinguish actual field-level response variability from experimental error and other residual variations. In this study, we assembled datasets from 41 on-farm fertilizer response trials on cereals and legumes across 11 countries, representing different nutrient applications, to assess response variability and quantify the frequency of occurrence of non-response to fertilizers. Using two approaches to account for residual variation, we estimated non-response, defined here as a zero agronomic response to fertilizer in a given year, to be relatively rare, affecting 0–1 and 7–16% of fields on average for cereals and legumes respectively. The magnitude of response could not be explained by climatic and selected topsoil variables, suggesting that much of the observed variation may relate to unpredictable seasonal and/or local conditions. This implies that, despite demonstrable spatial bias in our sample of trials, the estimated proportion of non-response may be representative for other agro-ecologies across SSA. Under the latter assumption, we estimated that roughly 260,000 ha of cereals and 3,240,000 ha of legumes could be expected to be non-responsive in any particular year. 2021-12 2021-11-15T13:19:26Z 2021-11-15T13:19:26Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116086 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Nziguheba, G., van Heerwaarden, J. & Vanlauwe, B. (2021). Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 1-13. |
| spellingShingle | cereals fertilizers legumes food security subsaharan africa on-farm research Nziguheba, G. Heerwaarden, Joost van Vanlauwe, Bernard Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title | Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title_full | Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title_fullStr | Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title_short | Quantifying the prevalence of (non)-response to fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa using on-farm trial data |
| title_sort | quantifying the prevalence of non response to fertilizers in sub saharan africa using on farm trial data |
| topic | cereals fertilizers legumes food security subsaharan africa on-farm research |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/116086 |
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