Fertilizer use efficiency under rain fed agriculture in West Asia and North Africa

Abstract

This volume is based on the presentations made by soil scientists from 11 countries in the West Asia/North Africa (WANA) region, at the fourth regional workshop on fertilizer use efficiency workshop held in Morocco. The workshop was the result of a decision taken by participants in the Network on Soil Test Calibration set up in 1986 to conduct joint fertilizer experiments on prevalent field crops, establish reliable correlations between the results obtained and soil and plant tests, and improve the understanding of Mediterranean soils in relation to their nutrient availability and behavior. The Soil Test Calibration Network represents an earnest attempt by scientists in the region to address one aspect of this experience: the efficient use of fertilizer for the benefit of farmers in W ANA. The participants in this network come largely from WANA itself, and are therefore well equipped, through their experience and intimate knowledge of the region, to identify where the problems lie and what actions are most appropriate to resolve them. The Network has been successful in drawing together the region's scientists involved in soil fertility research into a coherent and well-coordinated group. In addition to those from Jordan, Morocco, and Syria, scientists from Algeria, Iran, and Libya, just to name a few, have become active participants in the Network. Every year new participants join the Network. This intensifying interest from around the region indicates that the Network's goal of involving scientists from all the WANA countries proved to be of significant importance to the region.