Enthusiastic feedback on first soil fertility training organised by SoilCares Foundation

Soil fertility, nutrient uptake, fertilizers and food security – these were just some of the topics discussed during the first training on soil fertility that SoilCares Foundation organised. The training took place on 17^th of May in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 70 participants from 40 different organizations joined the training that aimed to highlight the opportunities and threats with regard to soil fertility and crop nutrition.

Emphasizing the importance of soil fertility

The goal of this training was to raise awareness about the importance of soil fertility for local and global food security. The participants learned how to calculate nutrient requirements to achieve a certain yield and how this is affected by environmental conditions.

Christy van Beek, director of SoilCares Foundation and trainer during the event: “We asked the participants to estimate soil nutrient withdrawal before the exercise and we then calculated it. It was quite amazing to see the differences. All the participants are now capable of making a fact-based estimation of nutrient withdrawal which is the very start of a full fertilizer recommendation.”

Putting the knowledge into practice

The most important aspect was to inspire people to put the knowledge into practice and work towards improving soil quality and maintaining soil fertility. Morris Ireri, one of the people who attended the training, shares his experience: “It was a wonderful and very informative training. I was motivated by your presentation and will put in practice all I learnt to ensure soil fertility graph changes the course, hence achieve healthier soils. I look forward to the next training sessions.”

Certificate of participation to all trainees

During the closing ceremony of the event, each participant received a certificate verifying the successful completion of a training on soil fertility. The trainees also had the opportunity to interact with each other and exchange ideas during the networking drinks at the end of the event.

Most of the people who attended the event were current SoilCares Scanner users, however the training was also open to the public, so anyone interested in the topic could join it for a day full of interactive learning and knowledge sharing!

Next training

Due to the great interest in the training, we are planning to organize a second one in the autumn of 2018. For more information for the next training, please leave your email address in the form here. We will keep you updated about our upcoming trainings and events! 

Below you can see some more photos from the event!

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