Accessing and sharing knowledge resources for soil health research in Africa

TR Number

Date

2008

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists

Abstract

This journal article describes the importance of access to knowledge resources in Africa and its relation to soil health and productivity. Degraded farmland is becoming an issue in Africa and improving soil health will potentially increase agricultural yields. To address the improvement of soil health, this article explains the survey taken in 2007 which polled 73 respondents from 23 countries about their access to information, their use of libraries and networks, and knowledge pathways they think could be improved. Results show that it could be useful to increase internetwork links that share information effectively among scientists, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. These collaborative efforts, along with increasing network membership and providing cheap resource resources, could have positive effects on the soil health in Africa.

Description

Keywords

Local knowledge, Conservation agriculture, Adult education, Sustainable agriculture, Social capital, Africa, Knowledge resources, Soil health, Networks, Surveys, Internet access, Field Scale

Citation

Agricultural Information Worldwide 2(1):68-71