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Smallholder farming in much of Sub-Saharan Africa is rain-fed and thus exposed to rainfall variability. Among the climate variables, rainfall is projected to decline and have an overriding effect on crop productivity. With little scope for supplementary irrigation for the majority of farmers, a plausible strategy to maintain crop production under water-limited conditions includes balanced nutrient management for enhancing efficiency of use of the limited soil water. It is well established that co-application of judicious rates of organic and mineral nutrient resources, that include phosphorus on phosphorus-limited soils, will facilitate development of an extensive crop rooting system for efficient exploration and capture of soil water, especially at> 0.8 m depth. This paper explores case studies across East and Southern Africa, in which approaches have been used to get ‘extra miles’ with available limited soil water. We describe a …