Symposium: "Can Soils Nourish Africa?" (11 September 2015)

Marking the United Nations International Year of Soils 2015, a symposium entitled "Can Soils Nourish Africa" was held at Kyoto University's Maskawa Hall on the Yoshida North Campus. With the focus on Africa, event participants considered the contributions made to date by soil and plant nutrition sciences and explored potential future scientific contributions to resolving food production and environmental issues on a global scale. Researchers with various types of expertise, not only in soil and plant nutrition sciences in relation to Africa but also in water resources, regional development, and other fields, were invited to discuss the present and future of the African continent from a variety of perspectives.

A series of lectures examined the current statuses of and challenges faced by African nations in respect of: the nature, distribution, and nutrient dynamics of soils in Africa; increasing geographical imbalance between demand for and supply of water resources and the possible role of virtual water trading as a measure to address it; systems and patterns of cropping in agricultural development projects on vast savannas; case studies of development assistance in semi-arid parts of West Africa, and in the uplands of East Africa; development of the paddy farming method, and production potential in Africa; and the significance of regarding agricultural work as one mode of livelihood among others across the whole national economy, which was revealed by field studies in rural villages where an increasing number of people make their living through multiple forms of livelihood. In the subsequent discussion session, two commentators raised some issues and focal points, on which the lecturers actively exchanged opinions.

With 171 participants, the symposium attendance exceeded the official capacity. The audience's deep commitment to the debate was evident from the many comments and the amount of feedback received.

The symposium was hosted by the executive committee for the 2015 annual meeting, in Kyoto, of the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition.