Decision making on integrated nutrient management through the eyes of the scientist, the land-user and the policy maker

This paper provides a definition of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The land user practises INM at farm level, but policies may cover an entire country or group of countries. The relative interest in INM by a land use-science-policy triangle at different spatial scales (Europe-Africa, East Africa-West Africa, within West Africa, within Kenya, within Embu District in Kenya, and between and within farms) are tabulated and discussed. Participatory soil fertility mapping and assessment of the potential of low-external-input INM technologies are also discussed. Finally, the impact of policies on INM were briefly highlighted for two markedly contrasting situations: a plethora of policies strongly affecting farming in the Netherlands, against the virtual absence of soil fertility policy in Africa.