Recognizing this need, SoilHive has been working on improving soil data accessibility and collaboration within the Food & Agriculture industry to empower stakeholders with the tools necessary for effective soil management and research. Here's a breakdown of the latest SoilHive updates and their implications: 

 

1. Search by Global FieldID: SoilHive has been integrated with the Global FieldID service. Users can now search for soil data at the field level by utilizing their unique FieldID codes. This feature streamlines the process of accessing localized soil information, providing users with granular insights tailored to their specific agricultural contexts. Whether it's optimizing nutrient management or addressing soil health concerns, the ability to search by FieldID enhances precision and efficiency in decision-making. 

 

2. Soil Groups Filter: With the introduction of the Soil Groups filter, SoilHive enables users to refine their search based on specific soil classifications. Leveraging the globally recognized WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources) Classification, stakeholders can pinpoint soil groups of interest, facilitating targeted research and analysis.  

 

3. Unpublished Data Sets: SoilHive has integrated three previously unpublished datasets. These datasets, sourced from diverse agricultural initiatives spanning Africa, represent a wealth of invaluable soil insights aimed at driving innovation and sustainable practices within the agrifood industry.

• TAMASA Soil Data - Taking Maize Agronomy to Scale in Africa (TAMASA) is a 4-year project (November 2014-October 2018) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, seeking to improve productivity and profitability for small-scale maize farmers in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Nigeria. This dataset hosts point data for Tanzania about the following soil properties: C, pH, Al, Ca, ECS, S, Mn, P, Zn, K, Mg, Na, Fe, B, N.
• TARI_SoilHealthProject -  This data was donated by the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute as part of a collaborative Soil Health project lead by CGIAR. The dataset hosts point data for Tanzania about the following soil properties pH, TC, OC, N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, S, Al.
• One Acre Fund - This dataset contains a set of soil chemical and physical properties collected in southern Tanzania (pH, Aluminium, Boron, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Zinc, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Extractable Bases, Electronic Conductivity, Exchangeable Acidity, Total Nitrogen, Total Carbon) collected by One Acre Fund, a social enterprise that supplies smallholders farmers in East Africa with asset-based financing and agriculture training. 

 

Check out the SoilHive and find out more about our soil knowledge platform.