The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice [Insight Brief]

African Heads of State and Government formally adopted the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit Declaration, also known as the Nairobi Declaration, during the AFSH Summit. The AFSH Summit addressed the urgent need to improve soil health and enhance fertilizer utilization across the continent to boost agricultural productivity and alleviate hunger and poverty. These priorities were initially identified in the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution. The Nairobi Declaration highlights the heavy reliance of African agriculture on cropland expansion for growth which has contributed to slow productivity gains, unsustainable soil management practices, and widespread soil nutrient depletion. For instance, a study by Potapov et al. (2022) indicates that cropland expansion in Africa between 2003 and 2019 was the greatest of all regions globally with an increase of 53.2 Mha, or 34%. The Nairobi Declaration links unsustainable land management practices and associated soil and land degradation challenges to reduced farmer incomes, increased carbon emissions, and enhanced biodiversity loss. It further highlights climate change as a substantial threat to African agriculture’s productivity and sustainability.

The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice [Policy Brief]

Land degradation is a major threat to productivity across the African continent affecting more than 485 million people. Food produced in nutrient-depleted soil lacks available nutrients for the people who eat it, and for most of the 33 million smallholder farms in Africa, growing food in degraded soil is the norm, not the exception. These trends are further exacerbated by the climate crisis. Only through collaborative, cohesive soil health monitoring efforts can AU Member States ensure that interventions are based on evidence to maximize impact. For example, such a monitoring framework can be used to prioritize, track and adapt locally revelant interventions. In turn these data can be used to inform policy and financial investments. This policy brief outlines the case for African policymakers to scale soil information systems (SISs) and integrate them into continental, regional and national policy frameworks.

A Globally Distributed Soil Spectral Library Visible Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectra

The ICRAF-ISRIC Soil VNIR Spectral Library contains visible near infrared spectra of 4,438 soils selected from the Soil Information System (ISIS) of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC). The samples consist of all physically archived samples at ISRIC in 2004 for which soil attribute data was available. The spectra were measured at the World Agroforestry Center’s (ICRAF) Soil and Plant Spectral Diagnostic Laboratory. The samples are from 58 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Associated attribute data, such as geographical coordinates, horizon (depth), and physical and chemical properties, are provided in a single relational database. The purpose of the library is to provide a resource for research and applications for sensing soil quality both in the laboratory and from space.

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