Leveraging Soil Information System for Fertilizer Subsidy Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Project Summary:

The grant aims to help Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia shift away from blanket fertilizer recommendations toward site-specific, data-driven approaches using Soil Information Systems (SIS). This is expected to improve soil health, enhance the efficiency of fertilizer subsidy programs, and advance more environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.

It is organized around four activities:

• A stock-taking exercise will assess the current state of SIS in each target country and identify investment gaps.
• Technical assistance will facilitate cross-country knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning among Sub-Saharan African countries and experts.
• Knowledge exchanges will fund study tours to South Korea to learn from the country's Rural Development Administration (RDA) and Ministry of Agriculture (MAFRA), which have advanced experience in soil information systems.
• Knowledge dissemination will produce final reports and guidance materials to inform further World Bank lending operations.