Soil Analysis

In the twelfth century, the Andalusian agronomist Ibn-Al-Awan wrote in his Book on Agriculture, “The first step in the science of agriculture is the recognition of soils and how to distinguish which is of good quality and which is of inferior quality. He who doesn’t possess this knowledge lacks the first principles and deserves to be regarded as ignorant”.

Every crop has particular macro nutrients, micro nutrients, and soil type it needs to grow. It is thus critical to know one’s soil condition and implement proper soil improvements e.g. pH, since in say acidic condition, some nutrients become bonded into complex compounds and are inaccessible for plant use.

SANKOFA uses ultra-modern portable digital soil testing scanners. This real-time technology relies on digital scanning of soil samples, by spectrometry, and avails a soil test report in less than 10 minutes, right at the farmer field. This includes pedon and landscape scale soil properties such as base saturation (BS), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH, which all do influence crop type, cropping patterns, and land use management practices. The handheld soil scanner determines nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, cation exchange capacity, soil temperature, and the organic matter level. This enables farmers to make confident cropping decisions, and plant the right crops for the right soils, since farmers get to know which nutrients are deficient and in what quantities and thus apply the right amounts of fertilizers. This helps avoid over fertilization that causes soil pollution, degradation, and leaching, hence enabling optimal fertilizer application, allowing for field appropriate soil fertility amendments. It thus guides farmers on the most suitable cropping and soil management practices for their gardens.