Sanders, J. H.Shapiro, B. I.Ramaswamy, S.2016-04-192016-04-191998Livestock Policy Analysis Brief No. 17 (October 1998)http://hdl.handle.net/10919/66012Metadata only recordPessimistic views are often advanced about the future of agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid population and declining food production growth trends have been observed. This has especially been the case with regard to semi-arid Africa where rainfall is low and irregular, and soils fragile and with low fertility. Such views ignore the fact that there have been successful technological break-throughs in the semi-arid region which have resulted in substantial agricultural productivity gains. Successful technology introductions have addressed principal constraints of water availability and soil fertility in the semi-arid region. A strategy for the rapid introduction of inorganic fertilizers, combined with the techniques that increase water availability and increased organic fertilizer use is proposed here for semi-arid Africa.text/plainen-USSemiarid zonesAgricultureSoil fertilitySoil qualityWaterSoilWater useFertilizationOrganic productionAgricultural developmentProductivityTechnologyBreak-throughsInorganicFertilizersWater availabilityProductionAbstract