Rainforests are burning. Fragile areas are deteriorating. Help achieve sustainable improvements in the productivity of maize and wheat systems. Interdisciplinary collaboration is extensive. Given projected population increases and demand for food, it is a serious matter if these production systems are threatened by resource degradation and other problems that might limit productivity over the long term.
Participatory experimentation ensures that technical options are tailored to farmers' circumstances.
This work will help us synthesize research results across sites. Fertilizer is both costly and risky for farmers to use. Farmers need technologies that can raise yields and conserve the natural resource base, but these technologies cannot add to the burden of risk that farmers already carry. Network members conduct basic, applied, and adaptive research on fertility issues to develop technologies compatible with the socioeconomic circumstances of smallholder farmers. Particular emphasis is devoted to making those options available to the farmers who need them.