N2Africa | Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

Sustainable intensification through rotations with grain legumes in Sub- Saharan Africa: A review

Effectiveness of rhizobia strains isolated from South Kivu soils (Eastern D.R. Congo) on nodulation and growth of soybeans (Glycine max)

Introduction

Welcome to this special N2Africa PhD Update. Each year around this time we ask all of the PhD candidates either directly funded by N2Africa or affiliated to the project to provide an update on the status of their work. As you will see it is a rich harvest! Two candidates Amaral Chibebe (Mozambique) and George Mwenda (Kenya) have already completed their PhDs. Amaral is back in Mozambique working as a rhizobiologist for IITA.

Characterization of nitrogen-fixing bacteria from Phaseolus vulgaris L. in Kenya

Maize-grain legume intercropping for enhanced resource use efficiency and crop productivity in the Guinea savanna of northern Ghana.

Findings on: Environmental impact in Dutch arable farming, experimental data on soybean yield potential, the yield gaps of sugarcane and sugar beet, and N2Africa baseline studies.

This internship was set up to evaluate the environmental impact of arable farming in the Netherlands as well as collect experimental data for the estimation of potential yields for soybean. This later also included research into yield gaps of sugarcane and sugar beet as well as work on the N2Africa baseline studies to obtain more experience into working on the datasets available within the N2Africa project.

Effect of cropping system design on severity of biotic stresses in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and maize (Zea mays) in Northern Tanzania.

Sustainable intensification of the agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is essential to feed a growing population by increasing crop productivity and food security while preserving ecosystem services. The N2Africa initiative is contributing to the onset of this by strengthening the implementation of nitrogen fixating leguminous species in smallholder farming systems.

Exploring the current state of ruminant value chains in northern Ghana, and the role of grain legume residues as a livestock feed resource

This study explored the current state of ruminant value chains in two regions of northern Ghana (Northern region (NR); Upper East region (UER)) and studied the role of grain legume residues (GLRs) as a livestock feed among livestock value chain actors. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed to conduct interviews with three different stakeholders: 99 smallholder farmers in two districts (Savelugu-Nanton (NR) and Binduri (UER)); and 108 livestock fatteners and traders in Tamale (NR) and Bawku (UER). Data was analysed by applying value chain mapping and using SPSS Statistics.

Participatory approaches to smallholder crop diversification in Malawi

My research started as a legume agronomist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Malawi. Two years of on-farm participatory research with smallholder farmers resulted in two publications. The first paper ‘Participatory research to close the soybean yield gap on smallholder farms in Malawi’ was published in Experimental Agriculture in 2016.

Introducing Travis Goron

I recently completed my PhD at the University of Guelph in Canada, specializing in crop plant physiology, specifically nitrogen metabolism in maize. My previous research group also conducted work concerning smallholder cropping systems in Nepal, which captured my interest – I was able to conduct a couple of side experiments with finger millet, a very important Nepali crop.