Details about cowpea
Details about maize
Details about soybean

The savanna is characterized by a growing period of 4.6 months with annual precipitation of 300.1300 mm. Farming systems in the savannas have high potential for cereal and legume production such as maize, millet, sorghum, soybean, groundnut, and cowpea as well as livestock production. Demographic pressure and the consequent demand for more food are driving agriculture towards greater intensification. Most crops are produced in a continuous monoculture in which the soil’s natural resources are being steadily depleted. Such cropping practices lead to lowered soil organic matter content, soil biological diversity, and enhance erosion risk.

The problems of soil degradation interact with many biophysical and socioeconomic constraints. Biophysical constraints include the use of inappropriate varieties and cropping systems, high pest pressure, erratic moisture availability, lack of feed for livestock, lack of labor, inefficient nutrient cycling, and postharvest losses. Socioeconomic constraints include poor access to markets, lack of credit services, unfriendly policies, and lack of research and extension capacity. These constraints prevent agricultural intensification resulting in lowered farm productivity and the emergence of unsustainable farming practices with a negative impact on the rural poor, their food security, and the environment. Crop yields are falling to very low levels and poverty is widespread with average incomes falling to less than US$1 per day. The number of malnourished people, especially children, continues to increase due to low energy and protein intake as well as micronutrient deficiencies.

In this project, we hypothesize that the high productivity of cereal and legume systems can be sustained by an integrated use of soil amendments, improved seeds, crop protection products, novel agronomic practices, better postharvest techniques, and the use of laborsaving machines/implements. Providing appropriate technologies for production and postharvest systems will result in more benefits from the use of higher yielding crop varieties, external soil inputs, and improved agronomic practices. Improving the postharvest system would also stimulate production, because it will facilitate processing and marketing of quality crop products, expand the utilization potential of crop products, and be a key to greater commercialization of the different crops. Greater support and strengthened institutional capacity will be required to overcome constraints. The project will help by promoting the use of resilient crop varieties, balanced nutrient management practices, integrated pest management practices, improved postharvest technologies, linking farmers to better markets, and by facilitating technology transfer through strengthening the capacity of service providers.

The main objectives of this project are:

• Develop and facilitate the dissemination of natural resource management technologies that increase productivity in a sustainable manner.
• Facilitate the development of postharvest technologies and market systems that increase the availability of high quality and safe agricultural products.
• Generate knowledge to facilitate the effective management of ecosystems, social systems, and commodity chains.
• Increase research efficiency and effectiveness by enhancing the capacity of national programs to generate and promote improved technologies.
• Develop technologies to improve labor-use efficiency and to reduce drudgery in cereal and legume systems.
• Reduce variability in productivity of cereal and legume systems.