Maximizing energy usage in a synergistic organic soil amendments production system for improved soil productivity: A review of opportunities for the drier savannas of nigeria

This article presents a review on the opportunities available in the drier savannahs of Northern Nigeria for the production of soil organic amendments to improve soil productivity and enhance carbon sequestration through a synergistic system. The use of soil organic amendments in the farming systems of the drier savannas of Nigeria is below optimal principally because of the low level of awareness among small-holder farmers in the region and production cost/benefit disadvantage. Given the large quantities of organic wastes generated in expanding cities in the region and non-feed agricultural waste resources from rural and peri-urban areas, there is potential to approach waste management from the perspective of waste conversion in a synergistic approach to minimize production cost especially in the form of energy savings. This will enhance the availability of materials such as biochar and compost which have been advocated as two principal materials with properties that can improve poor soils, such as those in the region under consideration. When coupled with risk management and extension strategies targeting farmer education, the products may be adoptable across the vast arable fields in the region thereby maximizing use advantage.