Concerned by the low use of fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to other developing regions, in 2004 the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) jointly undertook an Africa Fertilizer Strategy Assessment, the objectives of which included:   Identifying factors that have undermined demand for fertilizer in SubSaharan Africa;  Identifying factors that have restricted the supply of fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa;  Assessing lessons learned from past attempts to promote increased use of fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa; and  Identifying entry points for supporting successful uptake of fertilizer by African farmers, particularly smallholders. The Assessment generated a number of outputs. In addition to the “Africa Fertilizer Policy Toolkit,” a CD-based resource designed for use by policy makers and development agency staff, these included four ARD Discussion Papers— three that address specific fertilizer-related themes and one that summarizes the contributions made by participants in an e-forum about increasing fertilizer use in Africa that was conducted as part of the Assessment. The four ARD Discussion Papers include: 1.  Alternative Approaches for Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa Eric W. Crawford, T. S. Jayne, and Valerie A. Kelly This paper examines a number of financial, economic, social, and political arguments that have been made in favor of promoting increased fertilizer use in Africa. The cases for and against fertilizer subsidies are discussed in some detail. 2.  Factors Affecting Demand for Fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa Valerie A. Kelly This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge about the factors affecting farm-level demand for fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Technical, economic, and policy options for strengthening demand are reviewed. 3. Factors Affecting Supply of Fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa D. I. Gregory and B. L. Bumb This paper evaluates different strategies to make significant improvements in fertilizer supply to smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan African. Use of supply chain analysis is advocated as a means of identifying entry points where targeted interventions can shift the fertilizer supply curve to the right. 