Soil health information is a critical tool for identifying intervention areas to reverse land degradation, providing tailored fertilizer recommendations, and supporting policy processes, among myriad other benefits. Multistakeholder actors in Africa are already collecting data and sharing them with their wider networks, but many of these data sharing systems are limited in scope, cumbersome or locked behind institutional barriers. Fostering collaborative soil knowledge exchange could bolster the uptake of soil health data to drive evidence-based action on behalf of food systems, the environment, and people. Despite new continental momentum toward scaling soil health supported by data, there is limited stocktaking or documented baselines on current initiatives toward scaling soil health. This review seeks to address this gap and support the consolidation of efforts and initiatives at continental and national levels.

The results of this review can help prioritize and streamline efforts to build a collaborative soil data sharing community toward enhanced action in Africa under the Norad-funded initiative, Establishing an ecosystem of soil data-driven services.

Between 27 April and 10th May, 2026, #Youth4Soil engaged the cohort in Kenya in a data drive using the Regreening App to generate participatory, credible and standardized data while strengthening both scientific understanding and community action among youth. By engaging directly in data collection, youth became active contributors to evidence‐based decision‐making rather than passive beneficiaries of external interventions.

The experiences documented in this brief highlight how the initiative empowered youth with skills, credibility and advocacy capacity, positioning them as agents of change. The initiative fostered stronger youth networks and enhanced confidence, while the lasting impact will be reflected in improved soil practices, informed policies, and resilient communities that can better withstand future shocks.

The World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and Varda Foundation organised a one-day stakeholder consultation workshop in Malawi on 10th December 2025. The workshop aimed to bring together key partners to understand the soil health ecosystem in Malawi, including mapping existing soil health initiatives in the country, identifying and prioritizing use cases for soil health data and introduce the Soil Hive Platform. The workshops brought together a diverse range of stakeholders from across Malawi with over 30 participants attending the workshop. Participants included representatives from Government ministries e.g. the ministry of agriculture, research, academia, NGOs, youth organisations including Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). Department of Agricultural Research Services, the national agriculture research institute in Malawi was also represented.