CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
Abstract
Food needs arising from the demographic
explosion of sub-Saharan Africa can only be met through agricultural intensification. Smallholder systems feature
enormous yield gaps, which may be reduced through ISFM and other sustainable intensification practices. However, today’s huge variability in farming practices and returns on investments is likely to exacerbate in the future. Monitoring changes in productivity across scales is a significant challenge in heterogeneous systems, where overall low SOM and nutrient deficiencies prevail. Fortunately, remote sensing can help monitor crop performance at levels of granularity increasingly compatible with smallholder farming. This opens support applications for precision agriculture, allowing the exploitation – rather than the mitigation – of spatial heterogeneity, and the demonstration that enhanced productivity and livelihoods are possible in complex cropping systems
