ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on soil nutrient balances as quantifiable indicators of soil nutrient mining and depletion as well as the sustainability of farming systems and practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It examines the interpretation and application of information about soil nutrient balances as the drivers of soil nutrient mining and depletion, drawing from case studies to shed light on potential interventions to spark off the reversal of the hitherto unabated downward spiral of soil nutrient depletion in SSA. The chapter highlights the serious situation of soil nutrient depletion in SSA, and demonstrates the important part that nutrient balances could play in assessing future prospects for tackling food and nutritional insecurity as well as ill health in SSA. It draws attention to research imperatives to inform and guide climate-smart pathways to arresting and/or reversing soil nutrient mining and depletion in SSA.
