Ministry develops soil fertility map of 211 woredas

Addis Ababa, 14 April 2014 (WIC) -The Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia (MoA) announced it has developed soil fertility map of 211 woredas during the past three years.
Soil fertility map is part of the plans to enhance agricultural productivity set out by MoA. It prioritizes replenish soil fertility and more cautious use of fertilizers.
The announcement came here at a three-day forum organized by the Africa Soil Information Service (ASIS), which Ethiopia hosted to showcase innovative soil digital mapping system.
Experts and researchers drawn from Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, including from Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), are in attendance of the experience sharing forum.
“Mapping of soil fertility of 211 woredas has been completed during the past three years,” said Prof. Takalign Mamo, advisor to the Agriculture Minister with the rank of State Minister.
The map will help farmers to judge which crops are best to plant, and when, and to assess exactly what fertilizers they need to apply, Prof. Takalign indicated.
According to Prof. Takalign, some six fertilizers are indentified suitable for the 211 woredas.
The fertilizers have been proven effective in increasing agricultural productivity at an experiment held at 40,000 a pilot project centers, he indicated.
Ethiopia will share its rich experience in soil and water management as well as watershed development to the participants, it was learnt.