They prepare the soil for planting with their hands or simple tools.

VOA: special.2009.04.14

Partly, it is because African leaders and foreign donors have been almost equally indifferent to smallholder farmers and simple improvements to soil and seeds.

ECONOMIST: Africa's population

But it's not as simple as just putting a plant in the soil, Raskin says.

CNN: Flower power

Knapp gave him a list of simple innovations to follow things like deeper plowing and better soil preparation, the use of only the best seed, the liberal application of fertilizer, and more thorough cultivation to remove weeds and aerate the soil around the plants.

NEWYORKER: Testing, Testing