Inaugural Africa Soil Health Consortium workshop – Nairobi, Kenya 

Workshop: Africa Soil Health Consortium held their inaugural workshop

Duration: 25-26 May 2011
What did we did: This two-day event provided an opportunity for participants to understand better the thinking behind the Consortium and contribute to planning how it will function. Delegates came from a range of partner organisations including:

Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
CIAT-TSBF (International Centre for Tropical Agriculture – Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Research Programme)
Grameen Foundation
International Centre for Research on Women
International Centre for Soil Improvement and Agricultural Development (IFDC)

Terms for the technical advisory group were agreed. And Thomas Fairhurst explained a proposed pocket aimed at raising awareness on incidence and prevalence of deficiency symptoms and their impact on crop productivity in Africa. It will feature commentaries on soil fertility indicators, nutrient deficiency symptoms and crop information. Partners agreed that the booklet could be used to train extension workers.

Dannie Romney, Project Executive for ASHC, spoke on the need to prioritize cropping systems in different areas. The criteria used to select the priority cropping systems where the project will focus included: existing transport and market infrastructures, water availability, supportive government policies and high probability of small scale farmers benefiting from the systems. At the end of the workshop, members felt that the objectives were achieved and that they had a better understanding of the project. Teamwork, enthusiasm, participation, willingness and interest of various partners to collaborate helped ensure the success of the workshop.
Consortium contact: George Oduor, e-mail: g.oduor@cabi.org