Soil degradation across Africa ranks among the most severe globally. It is driven by erosion, nutrient depletion, unsustainable agricultural practices, and climate change. Without urgent action to address soil degradation, it will continue to threaten agricultural productivity, food security, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of millions of farming households.
Effectively addressing soil degradation requires reliable, accessible, and interoperable soil health data and information. However, across many African countries, national soil information systems remain fragmented or underdeveloped, limiting the ability of policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to monitor conditions, assess trends, and implement evidence-based interventions at scale.
In response to these challenges, the EU-funded African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO) project, led by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), will establish a continental framework for soil data integration, monitoring, and dissemination. The project aims to develop an observatory framework, including an African Soil Data Centre (ASDAC) and a Soil Health Dashboard. ASDAC will increase soil data availability by endorsing FAIR principles, while the dashboard will increase the usability of data by producing derived data products. Building on the Soils for Africa (S4A) initiative and its open-access continental soil information system, AUSO will be owned by the African Union Commission, and operation is delegated to FARA. At its core, AUSO is designed as a two-way system: it connects national soil information systems to continental-scale tools, standards, and datasets — strengthening national capacities — while national data in turn enriches continental soil maps and supports policy development at the African Union level.
After 18 months of project implementation, the first AUSO results are complete. This session will provide an invaluable opportunity to gather user perspectives and expert feedback, helping to guide the further development of AUSO and ensure that it meets the needs of soil data users across Africa.