Africa's soils are in crisis, with widespread degradation threatening agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and water regulation. Unsustainable farming practices, climate change, and population growth exacerbate this issue, leading to reduced crop yields, food insecurity, and economic hardship for millions. Women and youth are particularly affected, facing increased workloads and limited educational and economic opportunities. Addressing these challenges requires accurate and accessible soil health data, which is often unavailable or hard to obtain across the continent. This hampers policymakers and researchers in monitoring soil conditions, tracking changes, and implementing targeted interventions.

The AUSO project aims to tackle these issues by establishing a continental African Union Soil Observatory (AUSO), which includes an African Soil Data Center (ASDAC) and a Soil Health Dashboard to fill existing data gaps. Managed by FARA and owned by the African Union Commission, the AUSO will consolidate soil data from various national and international sources, creating a user-friendly platform for soil health monitoring. Through efforts to address data shortages and develop national soil health strategies in 12 countries, AUSO will empower stakeholders in the public and private sectors to make informed decisions, prioritize interventions, and support evidence-based soil and land management policies that promote sustainable agriculture.

AUSO will build on the Soils4Africa SIS and draw insights from the EU Soil Observatory and other initiatives, ensuring relevance and adaptability to the African context. The project will adopt a co-development approach, engaging stakeholders from national agricultural institutes, government departments, and other key organizations.