Soil Fertility and Hunger in Africa

Pedro Sanchez served as the Director General for the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) from 1991 through the end of 2001. Dr. Sanchez's professional career has been dedicated to improving the management of tropical soil and the multidisciplinary management of natural resources for increasing food security, reducing rural poverty and protecting the environment. He founded the CGIAR system-wide Alternatives to Slash-and- Burn Programme and served as its chair until 1999. He currently chairs the CGIAR Inter- Center Working Group on Climate Change. Dr. Sanchez has lived in the Philippines, Peru, Colombia and Kenya working on rice and pasture research, management in national research and development institutions (NARS) and international centers. Dr. Sanchez received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Cornell University. He joined the faculty of North Carolina State University in 1968 where he is a Professor Emeritus of Soil Science and Forestry. He is author of Properties and Management of Soils of the Tropics (rated amongst the top 10 bestselling books in soil science worldwide), co-editor- in-chief of Agroforestry Systems, editor of 10 other books and author of more than 120 scientific articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese.