Neglecting the health of Africa’s soil will lock the continent into a cycle of food insecurity for generations to come, a report has warned. The publication by the Montpellier Panel said the problem needed to be given a higher priority by aid donors. It added that soil degradation was also hampering economic development, costing the continent’s farmers billions of dollars in lost income. In Africa, there is the combination of land degradation, poor yields and a growing population: a recipe for disaster unless measures are taken to prevent it.