This project involves identifying field test sites to determine their soil health status through an assessment of selected biological, chemical and physical soil health indicators, to establish initial baseline values. Specific cropping systems / soil management systems will be implemented and the soil health indicators monitored over time to determine the impact of each intervention on the soil health status. Finally, a conceptual soil health model will be developed for the selected cropping systems relevant to small medium and large farming systems.
Research shows that a specific class of molecules produced by a selection of plant species enhances heavy metal uptake from the soil while preventing damage of tissues by the heavy metals in these plants. This make the plants capable of growing very well in heavy metal contaminated soils while removing the heavy metals from the soil. This project seeks to identify plant species that produce these molecules and study the mode of action of such molecules in the identified plants.
This project will conduct comparative studies to provide understanding of genetic and physiological determinants of sensitivity or tolerance of diverse maize, sorghum, soybean and cowpea lines to drought.
The main food security and nutrition problems addressed in this project are (i) the triple burden of malnutrition (a. protein energy malnutrition, b. micronutrient or hidden malnutrition and, c. overweight and obesity (ii) reducing food losses.The project is two-fold: (i) SMART foods to reduce diet related non-communicable diseases and (ii) appropriate food processing technologies for manufacturing the SMART foods by SMMEs.