Assessing soil micronutrients in sub-Saharan Africa

A collaborative effort by ICRAF, MTT and the University of Nairobi

Even though micronutrient deficiencies in Africa are considered to be widespread, limited research has been published on the extent of these deficiencies on crop production and human health and well-being (J. H. van der Waals, Michiel C. Laker., 2008. Micronutrient deficiencies in crops in Africa with emphasis on southern Africa. In Micronutrient Deficiencies in Global Crop Production. Springer, Netherlands). Developing healthy soils is a foundation for healthy plants, livestock and people.

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in partnership with MTT (AgriFood Research Finland) and the University of Nairobi have started a new project. This collaboration will establish a soil micronutrient surveillance system for sub-Saharan Africa and develop new diagnostic analytical methods. The project is a part of Food Africa – a research and development program enhancing food security in West and East Africa, coordinated by MTT.

Efforts to diagnose, survey and manage soil nutrient deficiencies in Sub-Saharan Africa have been insufficient due to a lack of both people, laboratories, and cost-effective diagnostic methods that can be applied over large areas of land. The project will deploy new infrared and x-ray technology to provide low cost analytical methods for assessing soil micronutrients. It will also draw on a unique set of soil and crop samples being generated by the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS), coupled with the long history of expertise in soil micronutrient analysis at MTT in Finland. The University of Nairobi’s role is to engage in capacity building thereby aiding young scientists as these new approaches and systems begin to take shape.

The end users of these results will include farmer groups, public and private extension services, local natural resource planners, project managers, fertilizer companies, national research scientists, national policy makers and planners, and international development organizations.”

The project will contribute to the Decision Analysis and Information Systems research theme of the Water, Land and Ecosystems CGIAR Research Program with the aim to improve soil health surveillance and evidence-based decision making on improving agricultural productivity, natural resource management and human welfare.