SUSSEX, ENGLAND—An international team of researchers led by James Fairhead of the University of Sussex found that an ancient West African method of improving poor soils could help today’s farmers boost crop production in the age of climate change. UPI reports that for a period of at least 700 years, West African farmers enriched rain forest soils with ash, bone, and kitchen waste to produce what the team calls “African Dark Earths.” They detected 200 to 300 percent more organic carbon in the samples of African Dark Earths collected in Ghana and Liberia than in untreated soil. “Mimicking this ancient method has the potential to transform the lives of thousands of people living in some of the most poverty- and hunger-stricken regions in Africa,” Fairhead said. For more on archaeology in West Africa, go to "The Nok of Nigeria."
