Group 6: Tree-Farming for Soil Replenishment in Sub-Saharan Africa

1. Group 6: Tree-Farming for Soil Replenishment in Sub-Saharan Africa Victoria Contreras Maragh Girvan Sid Kahali Dhruv Karunakaran Wayne Lu RukminiMullapudi Frazier Woodruff

2. Problem Statement • Poor soil quality in Sub-Saharan Africa strongly contributes to the lack of agricultural yield, which in turn contributes to food shortages in the region and hinders economic growth, most directly in affected regions but also indirectly across the world.

3. Background • Focus: Cameroon • Agriculture large portion of economies • 70% workforce employed in agricultural sectors • 42 % of GDP • 30% of export revenue • Soil quality depletion in 83% of arable land. • Depleted by • Overgrazing • Maize overplantation

4. Goal • Scope: • Increasing agricultural yield via improved soil quality beginning on a domestic proof-of-concept farm • Rationale: • Soil quality majorly affects SSA • Labor and cost effective • Impact: • Education of • Hedgerow Intercropping • Pot irrigation • Soil Quality Improvement • Improving yields for smallholder farms • Increased nutrient availability • Water irrigation

5. Objective One • Identify specific sites in Cameroon and locations in the United States with similar climate and soil conditions. • Importance: Soil type, chemistry, and nutrient levels vary significantly across both Cameroon and the United States, so it important to focus on specific areas with matching properties. • Actions: • Determine soil conditions of specific sites in Cameroon with low agricultural yield either based on previous research or through contact with local organizations. • Using existing research, identify areas in the United States with similar soil conditions and climate, with a focus on soil conditions. • Further rank potential areas by feasibility of access, which is influenced by factors such as distance from Georgia Tech, the organization who owns the land, and how much work would need to be done to simulate conditions in Cameroon.

6. Objective Two: • Secure a location for the proof-of-concept farm • Importance: The proof-of-concept farm will require at least five acres of land in order to be able to simulate the size of smallholder farms in SSA. This land will most likely need to be granted from a research institution for the duration of the project, as purchasing land is too expensive to be feasible. • Actions: • Based on areas identified from Objective 1, identify possible research institutions or landowners who could sponsor the project by providing access to land. • Contact potential sponsors in order to present research idea to gain sponsorship.

7. Objective Three • Evaluate soil chemistry and climate conditions of final proof-of-concept farm location • Importance: Gathering data on soil and climate is important in choosing an optimal intercropping tree as well ensuring that any results from the project will be applicable to conditions in Cameroon. • Actions: • Collect soil data including but not limited to: nitrogen content, phosphorus content, moisture retention, density, and acidity. • Collect climate data including but not limited to: rainfall, temperature, humidity, amount of sunlight, and seasonal weather patterns. • Combine soil and climate data in order to rank intercropping tree candidates by their potential effectiveness in improving soil quality and thus agricultural yield.

8. Objective Four • Identify optimal intercropping trees based on soil and climate data • Importance: The underlying principle of hedgerow intercropping is the use of trees to improve agriculture yield through modifications to soil conditions. Different species of intercropping trees will grow and affect the soil differently based on soil and climate conditions. • Actions: • Identify strengths and weakness of potential intercropping trees (i.e. fixes nitrogen, does not grow well in acidic soil, lack of root depth) from existing research on intercropping trees. • Using soil and climate data from Objective 3, determine which tree would have the most potential effectiveness in improving soil quality. • Begin cultivating the chosen tree in order to expedite the process of implementing hedgerow intercropping with mature specimens.

9. Objective Five • Prepare and create proof-of-concept farm • Importance: Data from this farm will be crucial in determining whether hedgerow intercropping and pot irrigation will be effective in improving agricultural yield when applied to sites in Cameroon. The farm will simulate conditions in Cameroon in order to hopefully provide applicable data. • Actions: • If necessary, modify soil conditions of farm location in order to simulate conditions of sites in Cameroon. • Divide farm area into four quadrants. One quadrant will serve as a control, one will use only hedgerow intercropping, one will use pot irrigation, and one will use both techniques. • Transplant intercropping tree specimens into hedgerows in order to simulate conditions with an already established hedgerow. • Sow corn seeds, which have been chosen as the crop used to determine agricultural yield due to its similarity to maize, which is a prevalent sustenance crop in Sub-Saharan Africa.

10. Objective Six • Operate the proof-of-concept farm for a growing season and gather data • Importance:As the crops grow, continuous monitoring of the crops and soil will allow changes in growth patterns and soil properties to be tracked, which is crucial in determining the effectiveness of the farming techniques to be evaluated. • Actions: • Daily tending of the farm will be required, and work will include filling irrigation pots, trimming intercropping trees, and spreading organic materials from intercropping trees. • Periodic (either daily or weekly) monitoring of crop growth and analysis of soil samples will be performed throughout the growing season for each of the four farm quadrants. • At the conclusion of the growing season, compare the yields and the soil properties of each of the quadrants

11. Objective Seven • Develop an education plan to teach others how to implement hedgerow • Importance: It is important to have a developed education plan ready to be implemented to education farmers on how to sustainably implement hedgerow intercropping and pot irrigation on their farms. • Actions: • During the course of the growing season, identify and record best practices. • After the conclusion of the growing season, review farming practices and identify practices which would have proven more effective. • Learn the local customs and culture of rural Cameroonian societies in order to determine effective channels of communication to best convince farmers to implement new farming techniques. • Compile farming practices and research on Cameroonian society into a comprehensive education plan which can be used to train both NGO workers and farmers.

12. Objective Eight • Identify and approach potential sponsors for further expansion of project into Cameroon • Importance: We will need more a larger network of connections and sponsors to be able to implement our soil improvement techniques on a larger scale. • Actions: • Identify organizations who would be interested in helping farmers in Africa, such as those dedicated to promoting agriculture, food security, economic development, or any other relevant field. • Develop a detailed proposal for the further expansion of this project based on knowledge and experience from the proof-of-concept farm. • Approach the identified organizations with our proposal and ask for support. • Once enough support is gained, begin planning for the second phase of the project.

13. Research Team • Professors • Logistics and Communications • Policies Specialist • Implementation • Education • Horticulturist • Soil Specialist

14. Future Directions • Expanding farm for tree cultivation • Distribution of saplings and education • Helper organizations: • FAO • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • Peace Corp • Key Farmers Cameroon • Sponsors