CIFOR–ICRAF publishes over 750 publications every year on agroforestry, forests and climate change, landscape restoration, rights, forest policy and much more – in multiple languages.

CIFOR–ICRAF addresses local challenges and opportunities while providing solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

We deliver actionable evidence and solutions to transform how land is used and how food is produced: conserving and restoring ecosystems, responding to the global climate, malnutrition, biodiversity and desertification crises. In short, improving people’s lives.

Soil Values Program

Soil Values Program

Duration: February 2024 - December 2033

Description

During the ten year Soil Fertility Grant Program (hereafter called Soil Values) we ensure that sustainable soil fertility management is a mainstay of Sahelian farming systems and improve soil fertility and the productive capacity of 2.0 million hectares of farmland in the Sahel and the resilience and well-being of 1.5 million small-scale food producers, particularly women, in four implementation countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Northern Nigeria. The bordering corridor countries, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, are included in dialogues about the south north trade of fertilizers and food for regional food security to ensure regional coherence. Soil Values will be a mover in the ecosystem of soil actors and mainstream soil fertility. The program makes targeted investments that will lead to large-scale adoption of proven technologies and approaches, be scaled to ensure social inclusiveness, stimulate debate, and build consensus and engagement of all relevant actors and result in a regional soil fertility agenda. In this project ICRAF works together with WUR, AGRA and IWMI. ICRAF leads the technical areas of Agroforestry and Agro-ecology.

Soil Values is a 10-year program led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and financed by the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS). The program’s approach focuses on Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) in the context of participatory landscape management to catalyze viable business cases and incentivize adoption by farmers, market actors, and policymakers.

At CIFOR-ICRAF, we are dedicated to advancing sustainable agriculture through innovative agroforestry and soil health solutions. As a knowledge partner, we focus on several key interventions areas of the program: bundling integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices to enhance soil health; restoring of degraded agricultural landscapes through integrated watershed and landscape management; convening stakeholders at regional and national levels to advocate for the inclusion of soil health in future agricultural policies; and investing in capacity building by supporting PhD and MSc candidates while enhancing local-level skills. Through these efforts, CIFOR-ICRAF is committed to creating impactful solutions that contribute to a healthier planet and resilient agricultural system.

Contact us

Photo of Ermias Betemariam

Ermias Betemariam

Principal Investigator

Details

Project locations

Northern Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso

Project duration

February 2024 - December 2033
(10 years)

Thematic areas

  • Theme 2: Soil and Land Health

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

  • Zero hunger
  • Partnerships for the goals
  • Life on land

Transformative Partnership Platforms (TPP)

  • Agroecological approaches, building resilience, livelihoods and landscapes
  • Landscape Restoration

More info

Click here

Objectives

The project’s primary objective is to establish sustainable soil health management as a cornerstone within the farming systems of the Sahelian and Guinea Savanna regions. It aims to improve soil health and productive capacity of 2 million hectares of agricultural landscapes in the Sahel, fostering resilience and well-being among 1.5 million farmers, with an emphasis on women.

Work packages

The Intervention Areas the Soil Values program will use to reinforce soil fertility in its partnerships are:

1

Bundling: bringing together both technical and socio-economic interventions into combined packages to
address farm-level soil fertility management in the broadest sense necessary.

2

Integrating our interventions at the landscape and watershed levels to optimize water management, to introduce nature-based solutions for the greening of the landscape, and to create broad community participatory and co-designed plans.

3

Brokering financial instruments that aim at long-term investments in soil fertility management, along with the identification of payment mechanisms for small-scale food producers, including farmers and livestock holders.

4

Convening to stimulate a conducive policy environment at the regional, national, and sub-national levels.

5

Scoping and learning to incorporate lessons learned by the program and from other initiatives.

Expected outcomes

1

1.5 million smallholder farmers, 800,000 of whom are women, reduce the yield gap and become more resilient to climate shocks.

2

40-plus river basins and landscapes, covering 2 million hectares of agricultural landscapes are managed sustainably and with equitable use of water.

3

Soil fertility is prioritized within agricultural development programs, regional policies, and the initiatives of governments and civil society organizations in implementing nations.

Project members

Photo of Muhammad Ahmad

Muhammad Ahmad

Spatial Platforms Technical Lead
Photo of Jules Bayala

Jules Bayala

Burkina Faso Country Representative, and Sahel Regional Convenor
Photo of Tor-Gunnar Vågen

Tor-Gunnar Vågen

Head of Spatial Data Science and Applied Learning Lab
Photo of Arinloye AdemonIa Alamou  Djalalou Dine

Arinloye AdemonIa Alamou Djalalou Dine

Benin Country Director
Photo of Ermias Betemariam

Ermias Betemariam

Land Health Scientist
Photo of Ann Winowiecki

Ann Winowiecki

Theme Leader

Anselme Bertin Takoutsing

Associate Scientist

M Ibrahim Touré

Country representative of Mali

Funders

Logo of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Netherlands

Partners