Desertification, which is soil degradation in drylands, is one of the global environmental problems. However, there is still no prospect of solving this problem and the degree of confusion is deepening in combination with food insecurity, particularly in drylands of Africa and Asia. Desertification is progressing due to soil erosion in the semi-arid zones of Africa and soil salinization caused by irrigated agriculture in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India, leading to decline in agricultural production. In order to cope with soil degradation and to achieve sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security, it is necessary to develop technologies and methods that maximize the efficiency of soil and water resource utilization while conserving soil resources.

Sustainable Land Management (SLM), which consists of soil conservation technologies and soil and water resource utilization technologies that maximize utilization efficiency under extreme weather conditions, will be developed to realize sustainable and stable agriculture in areas where desertification is serious.

• Development of a scheme to promote soil conservation in drylands of West Africa
• Maximizing soil resource use efficiency in soil degraded areas of West Africa
• SLM development in South Asian drylands

Burkina Faso, India

Farmers, agricultural policy makers, related projects, extension workers, researchers in agriculture and forestry

ONISHI Junya (Rural Development Division)