AUSO Overview
What is the AUSO project
AUSO is a European Commission project for Developing African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) [Project: 101218840 — AUSO — HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01].
The main objective of AUSO is to establish a comprehensive soil information system for Africa to support the management of African soils. The project’s goals include:
Developing a scalable soil health dashboard for Africa, along with a plan for long-term sustainability;
Identifying significant local and regional thresholds for essential soil health descriptors;
Collecting new data strategically to address knowledge gaps in areas such as pollution, compaction, biodiversity, nutrient status, acidity and acidification, soil organic matter, erosion, and water content, thereby improving the dashboard’s accuracy and utility through consultation with national stakeholders;
Creating roadmaps to illustrate trends in soil health responses to policy instruments; and
Supporting participating African countries in developing national soil health strategies, managing soil resources for agriculture and environmental purposes, establishing use cases, and providing training on data interpretation and application. The project aligns with continental initiatives such as the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA) and the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan (AFSH-AP).
AUSO is being implemented by a consortium of 23 African and European organizations. It received funding from the Horizon Europe – Research and Innovation program and aligns with the EC Soil Mission program.
