Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition

26 to 29 July 2022. The virtual Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition - “Soils, where food begins,” brought science and policy together to review the status and challenges of soil fertility in relation with crop, animal and human nutrition. Humans, like plants, and animals, need sufficient food to survive. But food must be safe and nutritious not only to provide energy and basic nutrients, but also to prevent disease and the intake of harmful toxins. About 95 percent of our food comes from soils, which have a natural capacity to support plant growth by providing them with nutrients through the soil solution.

The main objectives of the Symposium were to review the state of the art on the role of soil fertility in delivering sufficient, high quality, safe, and more nutritious food for better nourished people, animals and plants. The Symposium is expected to identify critical knowledge gaps and provide the basis for discussion among policymakers, food producers, scientists, the fertilizer industry, practitioners, and other stakeholders on the creation of solutions that can provide more nutritious agri-food systems for enhanced human health and wellbeing while protecting the environment. 

1. THEME 1: STATUS AND TRENDS OF GLOBAL SOIL NUTRIENT BUDGET 
2. THEME 2: SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT FOR FOOD SECURITY AND BETTER NUTRITION 
3. THEME 3: IMPACTS OF SOIL NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE 
4. THEME 4: GOVERNANCE OF SOIL FERTILITY/SOIL NUTRIENTS

Webcasts

• Webcast of the plenary sessions:  DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4
• Webcasts of the parallel session

Extract of the programme (focus on Africa):

DAY 1: 26 July 2022

Plenary session

OPENING OF THE SYMPOSIUM

• Mr QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

OPENING REMARKS

• Mr Garba Yahaya, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture of Niger
• Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• Mr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization (WHO)
• Mr Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)

DAY 2: 27 July 2022

Parallel session 5

THEME 2: Sustainable soil management for food security and better nutrition

• Linking adsorption-desorption characteristics with grain Zn concentrations and uptake by teff, wheat, and maize in different landscape positions in Ethiopia - Mr DESTA Mesfin Kebede, University of Nottingham - Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom
• Soil factors influence the geospatial variation in zinc nutritional quality of maize in Malawi - Mr BOTOMAN Lester, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Malawi
• Where do we need to apply Zn fertilizers in sub-Saharan Africa? - Ms VAN EYNDE Elise, European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
• Biofortified maize in Zimbabwe: nutritional quality depending on field position and crop management - Mr HAEFELE Stephan, University of Nottingham — Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom
• Selenium biofortification of staple maize: a way to combat hidden hunger in Malawi - Ms LIGOWE Ivy Sichinga, Chitedze Agricultural Research Station Soil and Plant Nutrition Section, Malawi

DAY 3: 28 July 2022

Parallel session 5

THEME 4: Governance of soil fertility/soil nutrients

• Manure management and soil biodiversity: Towards more sustainable food systems in the EU - Ms KOENINGER Julia, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Italy
• Sustainable soil management for food security and better nutrition - Mr BABA Mutala, CSIR - Soil Research Institute, Ghana
• Effect of Government of Ghana fertilizer subsidy policy on major cereals yield - Mr LABOAN Bright Mayinl, CSIR - Soil Research Institute, Ghana
• Sustainable Soil Management technologies upscale through Research-Extension-Farmers-Input Linkage System; Implications for effective policy implementation in Nigeria - Ms ADEJUMO Adeola, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, Nigeria

DAY 4: 29 July 2022

Plenary session

OPENING OF THE FOURTH DAY OF THE SYMPOSIUM

• Fifty years of Integrated Soil Fertility Management: what is next? - Mr Bernard Vanlauwe, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenya