AfSIS stakeholders met at the headquarters of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Nairobi on June 3, 2009 to provide input into program activities. Among the topics discussed were soil fertility trials, agricultural extension, forage and seed systems, legacy data and data sharing, partnerships, and water policy. (Download the report).

We view human and institutional capacity strengthening as the key to building ownership of the project by national institutions and consequently ensuring sustainability of not only AfSIS, but also the science and technology advances behind it. Whereas the capacity building component will relate directly to activities of the project, impacts on policy in government and private institutions on soils monitoring, research, and extension are expected to provide a model for AGRA and its grantees to scale-out to other countries beyond the initial ones directly supported by AfSIS (Tanzania, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria and Kenya).