Kathleen Down’s scientific contributions

... For meaningful production and intensification of crops and livestock, therefore, the state of the soil is of paramount importance. In Africa, soils lose large amounts of nutrients annually 1-3 from soil mining, erosion and leaching; in spite of the fact that these soils are already low in fertility [4][5][6] . These losses further impoverish the soils, thus accelerating the process of soil degradation, which is largely responsible for the relatively low crop yields obtained, low biomass production, poor returns on investments on the farm, high variation in yields both within and between seasons and thus the grave food insecurity problem that persists in Africa 6,8 . ...

Reference:

Strategies to improve and sustain food production capacity in the savanna: The role of leguminous fodder crops in maintaining soil fertility and health