Soil Health and Fertility Project
A memorandum of agreement has been signed between International Center of Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and National Center of Excellence in Geology (NCEG), University of Peshawar to carry out collaborative research under the project titled "Improving Soil fertility and Soil Health in Pakistan through Demonstration and Dissemination of Best Practices for Farmers". The project is funded by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Background and Purpose of the Project:
In Pakistan several government-sector agriculture research institutes/centers and universities are working on various issues of agriculture. The Agriculture Extension department is also helping farmers to solve their problems. There exists a well-developed private-sector that supplies agriculture inputs to the farmers. However, provision of technical training and follow-up services are limited. The country also possesses printed media and a variety of electronic media reaching out to the most parts of the country that can be utilized to disseminate useful information. However, none of these resources are fully utilized leaving Pakistan's agricultural potential to a great extent under-utilized, particularly challenges in declining soil fertility. The "Improving Soil fertility and Soil Health in Pakistan through Demonstration and Dissemination of Best Practices for Farmers" project will provide technical consultation from USDA experts in soils and agriculture and programmatic support to bring relevant Pakistani institutions from the private- and public-sector into collaborative activities. There are several potential technologies developed at various research institutions/universities, if properly demonstrated and disseminated can improve farm production significantly. These collaborative activities will improve common understanding of how farmers approach in selected areas of Pakistan to maintain or improve soil fertility. The activities will also help to develop and demonstrate new or modified approaches to improve soil fertility as well as develop effective means of demonstration through extension.
Overall goal of the project is to successfully demonstrate and disseminate practices and technologies in soil management and to develop and provide supporting analytical tools and extension materials that can help farmers improve soil health and soil fertility in Pakistan.
However, the specific objectives of the USDA-ICARDA project are:
- The demonstrate and test research and extension plots in Pakistan with best management practices (BMPs) concerning the capacity to maintain or build soil organic matter (SOM) and to improve the soil health resulting in more effective soil moisture conservation and soil fertility and reduce dependence of chemical fertilizers in this context also specific challenges that farmers are facing in building SOM shall be addressed.
- To develop and disseminate agriculture extension messages, information material, and tools to be used in Punjab, Sindh and elsewhere in Pakistan for building SOM improving soil health, applying the “4Rs” (right type of fertilizer applied in the right amount at the right time in the right place), and balance fertilizer applications.
Project Duration:
The project activities shall be carried out in Dera Ismail Khan District. The activities shall span over a period of two years.
Funding:
PKR 7.7 million
Project Staff:
Prof. Dr M. Tahir Shah, Project Leader
Dr Samina Siddiqui, Assistant Professor
Wajid Ali, Scientific Officer
Muhammad Faisal Jan, Research Fellow
Saba Shoukat, Research Fellow
