Ghana climate-smart agriculture project uses geophysics to monitor soil

A new research initiative titled ‘Geophysics for Climate-smart Agriculture in Africa’ has launched to address the challenges of extreme weather, such as droughts and flooding, in sub-Saharan Africa. The project, running from April 2026 to March 2028, focuses on using geophysics to enhance soil, water, and climate resilience in Ghana.

The project is a collaborative effort involving the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the British Geological Survey (BGS), the University of Nottingham, and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). It is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Researchers aim to deploy low-cost electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) soil sensing instrumentation to monitor sub-surface soil moisture dynamics. This technology will help evaluate climate-resilient farming practices, such as cover-cropping and tillage variations, to improve groundwater recharge, manage soil water dynamics, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions like nitrous oxide.