New Partnership to Strengthen Soil Health and Secure Livelihoods for 1.5 Million Sahelian Farmers

On February 26, the Soil Values Program and the Regional Hub for Fertilizer and Soil Health for West Africa and the Sahel announced a formal partnership. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to coordinate soil health interventions across West Africa and the Sahel. The partnership will enhance collaboration, minimize duplication of effort, and deliver lasting impact in the region.

This agreement unites the Regional Hub’s technical consortium with the Soil Values Program’s implementation platform in the Sahel. Consortium partners include IITA, IFDC, OCP Africa, APNI, UM6P, and ISRIC.

The collaboration aims to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land and strengthen the livelihoods of 1.5 million smallholder farmers in the region.

The MoU was signed at IITA headquarters in Ibadan by Alain Sy Traoré, Program Director of the Soil Values Program, and Dr. Bernard Vanlauwe, Deputy Director General, Research for Development (R4D), IITA.

The partnership aligns with regional soil health frameworks, including the Lomé Declaration on Fertilizer and Soil Health (2023), the Nairobi Declaration (2024), and the ECOWAS Soil Health Roadmap (2023–2033). It also establishes a framework to operationalize collaboration at scale.

Under the agreement, the Regional Hub will align its 20 technical functions with the Soil Values Program’s nine strategic pillars. This enables integrated planning, shared data systems, and coordinated implementation across countries.

“I firmly believe that together we are far stronger than we are individually. This agreement deepens our collaboration and elevates our shared vision for soil health beyond individual initiatives, positioning us to drive impact at regional and global levels,” said Dr. Bernard Vanlauwe, Deputy Director General, Research for Development (R4D), IITA.

To date, the Regional Hub intentionally moderated its engagement in parts of the Sahel — including Burkina Faso and Niger. The goal was to avoid overlapping with Soil Values Program activities. The MoU resolves that constraint and clarifies roles and responsibilities. Now, both initiatives can confidently expand under a coordinated approach.

“In the past, we deliberately moderated the Hub’s engagement in the Sahel to avoid approaching the same stakeholders with overlapping agendas. This MoU resolves that potential confusion and allows us to move forward in a coordinated and coherent manner,” Dr. Vanlauwe added.

“The true value of this agreement is that it establishes an official, ongoing commitment between our institutions—regardless of leadership changes,” said Alain Sy Traoré, Program Director, Soil Values Program.

Under the partnership, both initiatives commit to:

• Shared Governance: Joint participation in strategic leadership and decision-making structures to strengthen alignment and accountability.
• Unified Data Systems: Adopt standardized, AI-enabled data tools using FAIR principles—Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. These tools generate consistent soil information across countries.
• Clear Geographic Roles: The Soil Values Program will lead implementation in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, northern Nigeria), while the Regional Hub provides the broader technical platform across West Africa.

Supported by a €100 million grant from the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), the Soil Values Program is a 10-year initiative (2024–2033) led by IFDC in partnership with SNV and Wageningen University & Research (WUR).

By leveraging over €300 million in private and development capital, the program aims to shift soil health efforts from traditional aid models to sustainable investment. Seventy percent of implementation will be delivered by local partners. This ensures ownership, resilience, and lasting outcomes. Performance-based assessments guide annual contracts and continued engagement with partners delivering results.

“One of the reasons I am particularly proud of this program is the strength of our knowledge partners. Soil health transformation is complex and multi-dimensional, but with partners of this caliber, we have built a foundation that gives us both credibility and a strong pathway to success,” said Alain Sy Traoré, Program Director, Soil Values Program.

The partnership will focus on four strategic areas of collaboration:

1. Data & Knowledge Sharing: Shared tools, dashboards, datasets, and joint publications to strengthen evidence-based decision-making.
2. Capacity Strengthening: Harmonized training and coordinated support to national institutions and extension systems.
3. Policy Engagement: Coordinated contributions to policy dialogues and joint advocacy for soil health investment.
4. Resource Mobilization: Joint fundraising and donor engagement for greater scale and impact.

About Soil Values Program

Funded by the Netherlands Directorate General for International Cooperation (D.G.I.S), Soil Values Program ​​addresses persistent soil fertility challenges in the Sahel region, namely Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, northern Nigeria, with strategic countries: Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Soil Values Program ​​aims to strengthen soil fertility and agricultural productivity, in the face of climate change, with a focus on regional connectivity and strategic interventions. The program aspires to create a lasting impact on desertification and land degradation, landscape management – watersheds through participatory planning, effectively integrating soil, water and biodiversity. Soil Values Program ​​plans to promote financial incentive instruments that encourage farmers to invest in soil health through the adoption of sustainable soil management practices.  The Soil Values Program is being implemented over 10 years (2024-2033), led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), in consortium with SNV and Wageningen University and Research (WUR), as well as knowledge partners such as AGRA, the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), ISRIC – World Soil Information, and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

About the Regional Hub

The Regional Hub for Fertilizer and Soil Health for West Africa and the Sahel is a collaborative initiative that brings together leading research, development, and private-sector partners to deliver science-driven solutions for sustainable agriculture. Hosted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and supported by organizations including the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), OCP Africa, the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Accelerating the Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) and International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC ), the Hub leverages data, soil testing, and fertilizer technologies to enhance productivity, efficiency, and resilience across regional food systems. With financial backing from the World Bank through CGIAR’s AICCRA project and OCP Africa, the Hub is committed to translating research into actionable solutions for farmers and policymakers, promoting long-term soil health, food security, and sustainable development for West Africa and the Sahel.

Soi Hub Media Contacts

Ilerioluwa Oladipupo
I.Oladipupo@cgiar.org

Evariste Gbaguidi
soilvalues@ifdc.org