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Monday, 17 November 1997

Botswana benefits from Adelaide soil expertise

Soil and environmental scientists from the University of Adelaide are using their expertise to implement major soil conservation programs in sub-Saharan Africa. In bold new moves to export our knowledge, Mr Iain Grierson from the Department of Soil Science and other staff from the Faculty of Agricultural & Natural Resource Sciences have been helping the government in Botswana develop a soil conservation strategy. This includes the adoption of conservation practices by farmers and training programs for local environment experts. "Sustainable agricultural development is a major concern in Botswana, as it is a semi-arid region and water is often in short supply," says Mr Grierson. "Conservation practices need to be integrated into current farm production activities which will not only protect the land resource, but will also contribute to the financial and social well-being of the people." South Australia has a lot in common with Botswana, with similar climate and rainfall, similar population and similar soil types. This means conservation techniques which have already been tried and tested in South Australia could prove to be effective in Botswana. Thanks to Mr Grierson's overseas links, there are also benefits for Adelaide ­ a joint project with the University of Botswana has been established, looking at the use of satellite imagery and air-borne video to monitor the land and help predict potential soil erosion problems, and several postgraduate students from Botswana have now to come to study in Adelaide.