…is possible:
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The first detailed digital soil map of sub-Saharan Africa is to be created.

The £12m ($17.5m) project will offer farmers in 42 countries a “soil health diagnosis” and advice on crop yields.

Scientists from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) will take soil samples from across the continent and analyse nutrient levels.

These will be combined with satellite data to build a high-resolution map, to be disseminated freely to poor farmers by local extension workers.

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...

11 replies on “A better world…”

  1. I can summarize the report for you:

    The first detailed digital soil map of sub-Saharan Africa oulines that residents should LIVE WHERE THE FOOD IS! YOU LIVE IN A DESERT! YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT! NOTHING GROWS OUT HERE! NOTHING’S GONNA GROW OUT HERE! YOU SEE THIS? HUH? THIS IS SAND. KNOW WHAT IT’S GONNA BE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW? IT’S GONNA BE SAND! YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT! GET YOUR STUFF, GET YOUR SHIT, WE’LL MAKE ONE TRIP, WE’LL TAKE YOU TO WHERE THE FOOD IS! WE HAVE DESERTS IN AMERICA — WE JUST DON’T LIVE IN THEM, ASSHOLES!”

    Thanks, Sam.

  2. @1, Simple minds simplify complex problems they wouldn’t otherwise understand thereby missing the point entirely. Different crops require different soil types and different kinds of fertilizers. Also, crop rotation works better if you fully understand the soil and can adapt your process accordingly.

    Also, the article states in several places that the information will be available online. This may be of some use to the governments of African countries, but getting this information down to individual farmers seems like it will require more than just a website many of them may not even be able to access. Surely there is some plan for this; I wish the article would have gone into it more.

  3. 7 – the article says

    These will be combined with satellite data to build a high-resolution map, to be disseminated freely to poor farmers by local extension workers.

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