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Lessons learnt from Soils4Africa at Africa Fertilizer & Soil Health Summit 2024

The Soils4Africa project will be presented during the side event “Monitoring soil health and soil health investments at different scales” at the upcoming Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on 8 May, 14:00-15:30, at the Kenyatta International Convention Center, Amphitheatre Hall, second floor.
The Summit, organised by the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Environment (DARBE) of the African Union, in collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD, RECs, and partners, will discuss various issues around fertiliser and soil health in Africa and the implications on the agricultural, health, and social well-being of the continent.

This side event, organised by the European Commission, ISRIC, and CIFOR-ICRAF, will discuss the current and upcoming state of soil health and how to evaluate soil health regionally and at a continental scale using the existing soil data. It will also cover the indicators and thresholds that can be used to define soil health based on the existing soil data. Additionally, the event will showcase the latest developments in monitoring and measuring soil health at different scales. It will highlight the significance of soil information systems and soil health dashboards in monitoring soil health and the impacts of soil health policies and investments.

The Soils4Africa presentation will focus on lessons learnt to date in the effort to provide an open-access continental Soil Information System. This presentation will be given by Dr. Samuel (Sam) Ayodele Mesele. Sam is a Soil Science and Land Management specialist and Project Coordinator at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria. He is responsible for the technical coordination of the field campaign of Soils4Africa project.

Funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, Soils4Africa will establish an Open-data Soil Information System (SIS) by 2024. The SIS will enable relevant stakeholders in their efforts towards sustainable intensification of agriculture and boosting food security; by improving the quality and availability of African soil data. More information about the project.