Exciting advances in African agriculture (and more maps!)

My fetish with maps continues. And this one is especially useful, too!

The project is called the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), and is the first stage of a project to build a global digital map - called GlobalSoilMap.net - covering 80% of the world's soils. Bluntly stated, the project's objective is to increase the agricultural yields of Africa's farmers:

The aim is to build an interactive online tool, which will give extension workers and policymakers the information they need to determine how best to restore their "sleeping soils".

Meanwhile, an "aggressive" program of dissemination will ensure that AfSIS is readily available to African farmer associations and extension services, said a spokesman.

The plan is to continually monitor and update the map, with an ongoing soil surveillance service.

"If we are to reduce poverty, feed growing populations and cope with the impact of climate change on agriculture, we require accurate, up-to-date information on the state of Africa's soils," said Nteranya Sanginga, director of CIAT's Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute.

"With accurate soil maps, we find farmers can increase their yields by around 60%, and sometimes double.

Given that agriculture remains the primary contributor to national GDP in the vast majority of African states, and is the sole provider of income for millions of the continent's citizens, (according to the World Bank it accounts for 30% of the continent's GDP and employs 75% of the population), AfSIS has the potential to contribute enormously to poverty reduction, and even the region's economic growth. Among my concerns, however, is that such advances in the agricultural sector will limit the continent's exports primarily to agricultural goods, in turn hindering export diversification and subsequently significant economic growth.

Regardless, the project is indeed a giant leap forward (and the maps quite wonderful and color-coded!) and boasts great potential. I would rest a bit easier, though, if someone devised a map of entrepreneurship opportunities, or hot spots for skills acquisition, for instance.... anyone?

A curious opportunity for U.S.-China relations

Vijaya Ramachandran writes:

Steven Chu, who faces confirmation hearings in the Senate today, is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on renewable energy. But less known is the fact that he presents the United States with a unique opportunity to make progress in its ongoing dialogue with China on climate change (see for example this commentary on UPI Asia).

Chu is the son of immigrants who came to the United States to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. China takes enormous pride in his accomplishments, indeed his nomination was front page news in almost every major newspaper in China. His Nobel Prize received similar coverage in 1997, when it was noted that he is the fifth person of Chinese ethnicity to win this prestigious award. He is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has trained several prominent scientists in China. He was also instrumental in establishing the Bio-X Center at Jiaotong University in Shanghai, and serves as the center’s honorary director. As a result of all this, Chu enjoys direct access to China’s political leaders and has visited China several times over the past decade.

As with other nominations of individuals with recent immigrant backgrounds, Chu’s ties to China are a great asset. Thus far, we have not made much progress in our conversations with China on global warming and climate change. Of course our actions in terms of our own energy policy will be the most critical factor in changing course. With the selection of Steven Chu, we have a unique opportunity to make real progress with the Chinese government and the Chinese scientific community on this issue.

The lingering question, I would add, is one of China's genuine sincerity in pursuing such issues. 

New challenges in the world food crisis

Escalating hunger in African cities is forcing aid agencies accustomed to tackling food shortages in rural areas to scramble for strategies to address the more complex hunger problems in sprawling slums.

The United Nations World Food Program, the world's largest food-aid group, has plenty of experience trucking food into rural Africa, responding to shortages sparked by drought, famine and war. But in urban areas -- where, despite widespread poverty, hunger wasn't a significant issue until recently -- the hurdles are different.

In the vast and crowded slums, with many unnamed streets and dwellings without running water or electricity, it is difficult to identify who's most in need of help. Simply handing out food can disrupt cities' informal markets, cutting into the livelihoods of those who earn a few dollars each day selling peanuts or fresh fish, or of small farmers who haul their produce to the city.

The WFP, which usually takes the lead on aid in coordination with smaller organizations, began considering new tactics last year when it saw an urban hunger crisis developing in Africa.

For the full story, see the WSJ

Oil for Uganda

UK oil explorer Heritage Oil and its partner Tullow Oil have made a "world class" oil discovery in Uganda.

The finding by the Giraffe exploration well could be the largest discovery in the Lake Albert Rift Basin to date.

Reserves in the well and a linked discovery known as Buffalo, which was discovered in December, may come to more than 400 million barrels of oil.

From, the BBC