An assessment of the soil resources of Africa in relation to productivity

Africa, with a total land mass of about 30.7 million km(2) and a population exceeding 746 million persons, has generally lagged behind in agricultural development. Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) is the poorest developing region, with 29 out of 34 countries being some of the poorest in the world. The purpose of this study is to develop a Soil Taxonomy map, based on the FAO Soil Map of the World, which together with other data, is used to make continent-level assessments of land productivity and sustainability. Prime land occupies about 9.6% of Africa and the lands with high potential occupy an area of about 6.7%. The medium- and low-potential lands, which together occupy 28.3% of the area have major constraints for low-input agriculture. Resource-poor farmers who live on these lands have high risks and, generally, the probability of agriculture failure is high to very high. The remaining about 55% of the land consists of deserts or other lands with major constraints even for low-input agriculture. The desert margins have nomadic grazing which with increasing animal population is stressing the environment. A soil quality analysis and an evaluation of sustainable production, based only on biophysical considerations, suggest the need for major investments to enhance the productivity of the soil resources of this continent.