By raising important, sometimes ignored questions about research on soil fertility management in the subsistence, risk-prone maize-based cropping systems of sub-Saharan Africa, this paper seeks to improve the quality of problem definition, spatial and temporal extrapolation, and farmer participation, as well as promoting careful consideration of the factors governing adoption, links with policies, and longer-term and off-site consequences of changes in management practices. The article is targeted to Southern Africa, but the issues and their treatment are relevant to smallholder maize cropping and related research throughout the developing world.10 pages