Photo credit: Milo Mitchell/IFPRI
In honor of World Soil Day 2015, Shahid Rashid, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow, shares some interesting facts in a new video about soil and why caring for it is essential for survival. “All living organisms on the planet depend on soil for their survival…yet, we know very little about soil health," says Rashid. “Degraded soil cannot produce the food we need to eat…the fiber for our clothing…or the trees for our housing.”
Watch the video to learn more.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Related Publications
To learn more about IFPRI-REAP’s work on soil, read the following research and articles:
Fertilizer and Soil Fertility Potential in Ethiopia
IFPRI’s soil diagnostic study of Ethiopia.
Ethiopian farmers have long relied on just two kinds of fertilizer to boost nutrients in their depleted soils. Now, they are finally getting more choices.
A Recipe for Success: Introducing fertilizer blends to farmers in Ethiopia
It started with a simple observation. The soil types in Ethiopia vary considerably throughout the country. It is evident when driving through the countryside where variations in the soils’ color and texture are visible to the naked eye. But traditionally, all soil has been treated the same. Now, farmers have more options.
Samuel Gameda Talks about one of the ATA’s Flagship Projects: EthioSIS
Dr. Gameda launched one of the ATA’s flagship projects: the Ethiopian Soil Information System (EthioSIS), which is aimed at creating a National Soils Database (NSD) and a digital soil map of Ethiopia. Soil specialists are harnessing technologies such as remote sensing, satellite imagery, and spectroscopic readings with a rich collection of soil samples—over 100,000once sampling has concluded— to create this one-of-a-kind map in Ethiopia.
