SOMETIMES low tech is much better than no tech. A simple, affordable way to apply crop fertiliser directly to plants looks set to revolutionise the way poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow food. And it all hinges on beer bottle tops.
This week, African heads of state meet in Abuja, Nigeria, for a summit on the continent’s deepening soil fertility crisis. Three-quarters of the soil in sub-Saharan Africa is severely depleted of nutrients, because farmers do not use fertiliser or spread manure.
The summit aims to hatch a soil rescue plan, and this is where the beer-bottle tops may well…
