tSoil acidity is a major constraint for crop production on highly weathered tropical soils characterizedby high Al toxicity, low cation exchange capacity and low P availability to plants. To address these con-straints, we compared the effects on crop production and soil properties of liming and adding biochar.Experiments were conducted under field conditions in an acidic soil in the Madagascar highlands usinga two year rotation of maize intercropped with beans followed by rainfed upland rice over a period ofsix years. Five different levels of amendment were compared: 10 and 50 t ha−1of eucalyptus charcoalresidues (referred to as biochar), 1 and 3 t ha−1of dolomite and a control (no amendment). They werecombined with two types of soil management (conventional tillage and no tillage) and two fertilizationlevels. Soil characteristics were measured once after five years. Both biochar and dolomite amendmentsignificantly improved yields of the maize and beans due to an increase in soil pH and a decrease inexchangeable aluminium. However, no significant effect was observed on the yield of upland rice. Theincorporation of 50 t ha−1of biochar was necessary to match the results obtained with 3 t ha−1of dolomite.Amendment with dolomite was a more practical and cost-efficient option than amendment with biocharin our conditions. Long term trials are now needed to evaluate other types of biochar.