webinar register page

Topic

Improving soil health through climate-smart agriculture: A key to resilient farming systems and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Description

Efforts to meet the growing demand for food across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led to unsustainable land management practices that cause soil degradation and weaken the resilience of agricultural systems. Soil health is key to building more climate-resilient agricultural systems and can be improved through a range of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices.

This webinar will focus on AFRICAP’s efforts to review and extend the empirical evidence base to inform context-specific CSA recommendations and policies for a resilient agriculture and food security in SSA. The use of soil health indicators as a measure of the effectiveness of implemented CSA practices such as Conservation Agriculture (e.g. cover cropping, mulching, crop rotation, intercropping, minimum/zero tillage, crop residue management) in maize-based systems and Soil and Water Conservation (contour planting, terraces and bunds, planting pits, irrigation) in Highland African systems will be discussed. The webinar will also explore strategies for upscaling CSA practices through enhanced farmer participation in the chain of CSA activities ranging from intervention design to community evaluation of impacts.

The webinar will close with a response from discussant, Dr Christian Thierfelder, Principal Cropping Systems Agronomist and Strategic Leader specializing in Conservation Agriculture systems research with CIMMYT, followed by a Q&A, facilitated by the event chair Prof Steven Banwart, Director of the Global Food & Environment Institute at the University of Leeds.

For more GCRF-AFRICAP seminars on food systems and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa, visit https://africap.info.

Time

Feb 23, 2021 01:00 PM in London

Webinar is over, you cannot register now. If you have any questions, please contact Webinar host: Team AFRICAP.

All fields are required

Your Information
Send to
Message preview	Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Feb 23, 2021 01:00 PM London Topic: Improving soil health through climate-smart agriculture: A key to resilient farming systems and food security in sub-Saharan Africa Register in advance for this webinar: https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7QMsz7FkQ-aR-8CpHyeMkQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers Prof Andy Dougill (Professor of Environmental Sustainability @University of Leeds) Andy Dougill is an applied environmental change researcher & experienced academic leader with 30 years of experience across southern African farming systems that integrates a range of disciplines including soil science, ecology, climate services and environmental social sciences. He has have developed innovative approaches for integrating research methodologies that use scientific approaches together with local participation to ensure locally relevant research output with studies applied in a range of socio-ecological settings, with a focus on sub-Saharan African Farming Systems. He has successfully built long-lasting partnerships with a range of African Universities and partner organisations through a strong commitment to impact, capacity building and research training. In the GCRF AFRICAP project, he is the Malawi country co-ordinator and work package leader for studies on ‘Climate Smart Agriculture & Soil Health Benefits’. Dr Samuel Eze (GCRF-AFRICAP Research Fellow, Soil Science of African Agricultural Systems @University of Leeds) Dr Samuel Eze is a GCRF-AFRICAP Research Fellow of Soil Science of African Agricultural Systems. Samuel’s research focuses on the impacts of climate-smart agricultural practices on the physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health. Before joining the GCRF-AFRICAP project, Samuel worked as a Postdoctoral Impact Translation Fellow for the Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP), UK, where he investigated the impacts of different land management interventions in the UK on soil health. His main research interest is understanding the impacts of agricultural land management practices and climate change on the soil’s continued capacity to maintain important functions such crop production, climate change mitigation, water and air quality regulation. He has a BSc in Soil Science (Federal University of Technology Owerri), an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Management (University of Greenwich) and a PhD in Physical Geography (University of Leeds). Thirze Hermans (PhD Researcher, Conservation Agriculture @University of Leeds) Thirze Hermans is a NERC-funded PhD researcher at the University of Leeds working on Conservation Agriculture scaling in Malawi in collaboration with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Her PhD research focuses on the Conservation Agriculture scaling process and associated smallholder farmer decision-making, thereby gaining understanding on the processes of change, knowledge interactions and translation from research to communities. She has a BSc in liberal arts and sciences (major environmental science) from Amsterdam University College, The Netherlands, and MSc Physical Geography and Ecosystem Dynamics from Lund University, Sweden. Other projects she is working on include UK climate change risk assessment (CCRA) international dimensions chapter and Red Cross project on the integration of local knowledge on early warning early action with scientific forecasting; case studies for Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Time Zone:

webinar register page

Share via Email

Switch Time Zone

Upcoming Meetings