Using Soil Science to Help Fight Hunger in Africa

Newswise — Dr. Pedro Sanchez, director of tropical agriculture and senior research scholar at the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and co-chair of the Hunger Task Force of the United Nations' Millennium Project, will speak about the project's success to date during the World Congress of Soil Science in Philadelphia. Dr. Sanchez—joined in his research by Cheryl Palm, Jeffrey Sachs, and Denning Glenn—will present:

EVENT: "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa" DATE: Thursday, July 13TIME: 1:15 " 3:15 p.m.PLACE: Room 111AB, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia

Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where chronic malnutrition is worsening every day—a silent tsunami killing 200,000 people every month. Poor soil fertility and water mismanagement greatly contribute to this death toll. The U.N. Millennium Project Hunger Task Force is working to alleviate poverty and malnutrition through science-based policies combined with community participation and decision making for an empowering, bottom-up approach.

The 12 Millennium Villages established in Africa demonstrate how effective this approach can be. The villages, each of around 5,000 people, represent all the major farming systems and agroecologies of tropical Africa. Multiple interventions are being conducted simultaneously on agriculture, public health, energy, education, water and sanitation, and environmental restoration. Dr. Sanchez will discuss the critical role of soil science in this effort, as well as the overall progress of this integrated approach.

For example, after one year, the people in one village have eliminated hunger by tripling their grain production, increased their health by building a clinic and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, and improved their soil by planting 5.5 million trees and shrubs. This was achieved with minimal investment (the United Nations Millennium Project estimates that targeted investment of the equivalent of $110 U.S. per capita, per year for the next 10 years will be needed to achieve all of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa).

Members of the media are invited to attend. The World Congress of Soil Science is held from July 9-15 in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and feature presentations by soil scientists from around the world on such topics as climate change, soils and health, urban planning, crop production, hazardous waste, and more. The World Congress of Soil Science is a unique international event held in a different city every four years (last held in the U.S. in 1960). For more information, go to: http://www.18wcss.org.

A Press Room will be located in the Pennsylvania Convention Center (Room 302) for members of the media and Public Information Officers.