1. News reports
Cropping guides get a boost
ASHC, together with IITA and other partners, has been working on an integrated soils fertility management (ISFM) banana/coffee systems cropping guide This manual, published in draft, is designed for use by the extension workers in advising farmers on various aspects related to coffee and banana farming systems. It is one of a series […]
Read MoreImproving information ISFM information flows
ASHC is working with the Royal Tropical Institute to carry out an information needs assessment in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Dannie Romney explains: “ASHC has a remit to develop actionable information on ISFM that will impact on smallholder farming-families. Part of our work is concerned with increasing understanding in the sector about how to achieve this, and as […]
Read MoreCOMPRO II: March 2015 newsletter published
The new COMPRO II newsletter is available now. Quality & Yield – Issue 10 – March 2015 is produced by ASHC to support objective 4 of this IITA-led project supporting the commercialisation of a range of products. In this issue you will find: COMPRO II – supported Mycorrhizal training rated highly Why do we need Standard Operating Procedures? […]
Read MoreA one-page report of 4 years work …
The Africa Soil Health Consortium has been reflecting on what it has achieved to date. George Oduor said: “We want to find a unique and innovative way of summarising all we had achieved in phase 1. Our in-house design team came up with this graphic which is a great way to celebrate our progress […]
Read MoreOFRA Fertilizer calibration tool shared
Calibrating fertilizer application to ensure uniform application at the desired rate is difficult. The OFRA team has developed a tool for easy determination of the calibrated application for specific fertilizer type, rate and method of application. This a considerable help in producing fertilizer guidelines that are relevant to farmers, rather than the conventional kilograms per hectare […]
Read MoreLiterature review: Communicating with smallholders
ASHC is pleased to share a literature review developed as part of the ASHC phase 2 scoping study. Dannie Romney said: “The process of developing a phase 2 application has given us the chance to review the information on communicating with smallholder farmers. We are committed to making all of our research, useful information and findings […]
Read MoreOFRA helps host AGRA delegation in Mozambique
UK professor of International Development, Sir Gordon Conway and two members of the AGRA board – Dr Maria Andrade and Dr Moise Mensah, were part of a delegation reviewing AGRA projects in Mozambique. The three were joined by a powerful delegation of AGRA staff and its partners – including OFRA’s own George Oduor. The purpose […]
Read MoreEast and Southern Africans share soil research data
Over the years large amounts of data have been generated to form discrete crop and soil research initiatives. This research legacy, with standardization and aggregation, can be widely applied in ways never anticipated or envisaged by the scientists who generate the data. Now, two AGRA-funded programs (OFRA & the East and Southern Africa country level […]
Read MoreFertilizer Optimisation Tool takes step forward in East Africa
The development of customized, country specific fertilizer optimisation tools moved a step closer last week as a result of the OFRA workshop in Arusha, Tanzania. The workshop brought together experts from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania specially to look at how tools could be developed that share information across similar agro-ecological zones. Harrison Rware, the […]
Read MorePrivate sector engagement in ASHC phase 2
The Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC) has reviewed its rules of engagement with the private sector. Dannie Romney, the project executive for the , explained: “We have had good experiences working with the private sector over the past few years in ASHC. However, with encouragement from our technical advisory group, we have been exploring how […]
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