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Typical of smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa, problems of low crop yields and declining soil fertility are widespread in Southern Africa, mainly due to the continued cultivation of crops with meagre nutrient inputs. In the face of growing food insecurity and the global food supply perturbations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict, there is an urgent need to boost local food production, particularly by increased fertiliser use. While increased use of mineral fertilisers is critical for improved crop productivity, mineral fertilisers are on their own inadequate to sustainably increase crop yields due to multiple and complex biophysical and socio-economic constraints in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) framework provides a foundation for sustainable nutrient management focused on the integrated use of mineral fertilisers …