This project combines the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples from remote areas across the continent. The aim is to help provide solutions for poor farmers, who suffer from low-yielding crops, largely due to degraded soils. Efforts to improve African soils have been hampered by a lack of comprehensive knowledge about their current condition. The information is critical in identifying the types and amounts of mineral and organic nutrients needed to increase crop yields.
Ciat is one of the 15 centers funded, mainly, by the 58 countries, private foundations, and international organizations that comprise the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, one in three people — or 236 million in 2007 — in sub-Saharan Africa are chronically hungry. The African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), will respond to that need by making up-to-date assessments of soil properties. Researchers will probe the continent using a variety of digital soil mapping techniques to create detailed soil maps, which will be available on the Internet for viewing. Data provided by AfSIS at the regional, national, and local levels will help farmers and agricultural experts to identify the best options for sustainably improving crop production.
Work on AfSIS is supported through a four-year grant of $18 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Ciat’s Nairobi-based Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute will lead the effort. The soil map will ultimately become part of a global soil mapping initiative, called GlobalSoilMap.net.
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