Global
Soil Doctors
Programme
CERTIFIED SOIL DOCTER
The Global Soil Doctors Programme is a farmer-to-farmer training initiative that aims to build the capacity of farmers on sustainable soil management while supporting national governments and stakeholders in addressing the needs of their rural communities.
Course Duration
6 Months
Eligibility
B.Sc. Biology/ Agriculture or Equivalent
Global Soil Doctors Programme
The United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO) Global Soil Doctor Programme (GSDP) is a farmer training initiative that was developed by the Global Soil Partnership (GSP). The Programme aims to provide farmers with educational materials to learn about Sustainable Soil Management (SSM). The trained person – recognized as “Soil Doctors” are selected to support and educate other farmers to diagnose and heal soils in their local community. Across 21 countries, UN FAO’s Global Soil Doctors Programme is transforming agriculture by training farmers to become soil experts. These soil doctors use sustainable practices to rejuvenate the land & enhance crop yields.
The Global Soil Partnership (GSP) was established in 2012 as a mechanism to develop a strong interactive partnership, and, enhanced collaboration and synergy of efforts between all stakeholders involved with soils. One of the key objectives of the GSP is to improve soil governance and promote sustainable soil management. The GSP has been advancing in its mandate of improving soil governance to safeguard agricultural productivity and food security through sustainable soil management and ecosystem services.
Scope of the Soil Doctor
The execution of the program builds on the identification of champion farmers (referred to as Soil Doctors) to educate other farmers in their community on soil science principles and to train them in the practice of sustainable soil management
Objectives of the Soil Doctor
- Farmers Training to Save Soil
- Soil and Plant Testing expert
- Soil Improvement Process
- Soil research and experiments
- Natural Farming
- Organic Food Production
Benefits of the Soil Doctor
- They will become reference sources on soil management within their local communities;
- They will benefit from the incentives provided to them by the promoter(s) (see section on incentives);
- They will receive special training aimed at increasing their knowledge of soil and the practice of sustainable soil management by the promoter(s) of the program;
- They will be able to make immediate decisions in the field by putting into practice the methods in the STM (to be put at the service of their community);
- They will strengthen their relations with the community, increasing their ability to request and report the needs of their community.
Benefits for the farmers
- They can rely on the assistance of a trusted member of their community, the Soil Doctor, to improve their farming system and the quality/productivity of their soils. This will ultimately lead to increasing their food security (quantity and quality of the harvest);
- They will receive training aimed at increasing their knowledge of soil and the practice of sustainable soil management by their Soil Doctor; and
- Through their Soil Doctor, they will have a preferential channel to communicate with the promoter(s), particularly about their needs.