WP 5| Strengthening strategic data collection and sharing

Lead IITA, with National partners: CSIR, INP, IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI, INIDA, FOFIFA, with support from FARA, ISRIC, CIRAD, UKCEH, WU, MATE, ICARDA. T5.2 will result in a strategic plan to fill gaps identified under T5.1 and collect required data (D5.2) with continental and country sections. The gap-fill plan will build on the data collection strategy from the Soils4Africa project and where relevant or possible, leverage the associated mechanisms already established in the participating countries.

The gap-fill plan will outline details with regards to soil sampling and analysis, including when and where to sample, how many samples will be required considering the budgetary limitations, as well as the sampling and analysis protocols to be used. Learning from the Soils4Africa process on the time required for new data generation, the strategic plan will be defined. Specifics of the plan will depend on the soil indicator requirements of WP3 (T3.3, T3.4, T3.5) and the data review and gap fill strategies of T5.1 (drawing on the key parameters agreed in T5.1).

Lead IITA, with National partners: CSIR, INP, IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI, INIDA, FOFIFA,
with support from FARA, ISRIC, CIRAD, ETH-Z, UNISS, MATE. T5.3 will implement the strategic gap-fill and data collection plan for selected geographies and countries (from T5.2) divided into two phases. The two-phased approach will allow more dedicated focus on a smaller number of countries initially to optimize the data collection and country-support process. The first phase will prioritize a first set of 6 countries (from T5.1) in years 2 and 3. The second phase will gradually incorporate the remaining countries in years 4 and 5.

The data collection process in the countries will utilize as much as possible the existing processes applied in the Soils4Africa project, with an emphasis on building and using national capacities for data collection and harmonizing existing data to common standards. The details of who will do the data collection and where the analyses will be done will be clarified under T5.2. The data collected will depend on the indicators and parameters agreed in T5.2 but is likely to include in situ data (e.g., land use, crop type along with productivity, profitability and related information) and results of soil analysis (e.g., from institutional, national, and international soil labs and analytical efforts). These types of data are expected to be available with national and international partners, including and beyond the partners specified in this proposal. The resulting well-documented data, harmonized historical data and (new) collected data (D5.3) will be added to national repositories and available via AUSO, described through standardized metadata.

For national level data, following Soils4Africa approaches and complementing its datasets, additional sampling and lab analyses of 400 locations per country in 8 countries is tentatively planned and budgeted. The analyses will include ‘standard’ soil properties and new soil health-related parameters. Spectroscopy will be used to analyse 3.000 samples of per country in 8 countries (a total of 24.000 samples). We plan to use midDRAFTSto predictSOC quality,SOC maturity and soil biological reactivity index. For 100 selected samples per country, we will undertake Wet Chemistry to assess 50 soil physical and chemical properties as in Soil4Africa, to which we will add respiration and biomass. To support assessment of Soil Biology, we will include analysis of functional and structural indicators of soil biology, including the microbiome for 100 samples per country. Further data on soil pollution will be included by sampling pesticide residue in 10 samples per country. All of these will be confirmed and specified under T5.2 after WP3 has established which biological indicators of soil health we will include.

Lead IITA, with support from ISRIC, FARA, IITA, UKCEH, MATE, ETH-Z, ICARD, national partners: CSIR, INP,
IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI, INIDA, FOFIFA. Task 5.4 trains staff of FARA and national partners working in soil departments in common AUSO standards for data collection to ensure data collected aligns with common standards and can be easily aggregated and used for decision support and other activities. Training materials will be developed under T5.4 (D5.4) and shared during 3 workshops (1 in French, 2 in English), at least 1 per region (T6.2). As part of the long-term sustainability course, staff of FARA and
national partners will be able to train future staff in the data collection standards of AUSO.

LeadFARA, with support from IITA, NationalPartners: CSIR, INP, IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI,
INIDA, FOFIFA, ISRIC, ICARDA, AFAAS, CABI, ICARDA. Task 5.5 will implement secure data sharing procedures established in WP1 and WP2, to ensure that new data, generated and collected in WP5, is shared between AUSO, and selected national SISs and regional instances where appropriate. Elements to be addressed as part of this task include ways to share and analyze data while assuring that individuals’ privacy and ethical considerations are met, and national data security concerns are addressed, while making data available
for decision support that benefits the ultimate beneficiaries (e.g., smallholder farmers).