Organic Matter Management for Sustainable Tropical Crop Production.

Abstract

Organic matter exerts a profound influence on crop nutrition, soil structure and cultivation.  Healthy soil is the foundation of the food system. It produces healthy crops that in turn nourish people. Maintaining a healthy soil demands care and effort from farmers of which organic matter management is viewed as central to the finest scale approaches used to assess the sustainability of soil systems. Nutrient exchanges   between organic matter, water and soil are essential to soil fertility and need to be maintained for sustainable production purposes  Agricultural development and production is sustainable when it is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, culturally appropriate, humane and based on a holistic scientific approach. This means that sustainable agriculture and rural development including forestry and fisheries must meet the nutritional requirements and other human needs of present and future generations, provide durable and decent employment and where possible enhance the productivity and regenerative capacity of the natural resource base, reduce vulnerability and strengthen self reliance.   It is obvious and  certain that where the soil is exploited for crop production without restoring the organic matter and nutrient content of the soil and maintaining a good structure, the nutrient cycles are broken, soil fertility declines and the balance in the agro-ecosystem is destroyed.