Addressing the theme ‘Critical soil solutions for sustainable development in Africa,' this conference was initially organized under the auspices of the International Year of Soils (IYS) 2015, but postponed due to the security situation in Burkina Faso. Organizing partners include the Burkina Faso Ministry of Rural Development and several national soil science and research institutes; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS); the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ISRIC – World Soil Information. Conference sub-themes include: soil productivity in tropical agrosystems; land ownership and sustainable land management; soil and climate change; and education and capacity building in soil science in Africa. The conference will comprise a three-day scientific meeting gathering soil scientists, land planners and users and related specialists, followed by a post-conference tour focusing on issues such as food insecurity, climate change, land degradation, land and water knowledge management and renewable energies. In addition, IITA and other partners will convene a special sub-regional program on the theme: ‘Soil fertility management recommendations for sustainable agricultural intensification in West and Central Africa.' The aim of the special program is to enable a wide range of stakeholders to use real-time information towards development outcomes in policy-making and technologies for land management, thus contributing to increased food production and improved natural resource management.  

dates: 7-14 February 2016  
location: Ouagadougou, Kadiogo, Burkina Faso  
contact: Mamadou Traore  
phone: +22670272160
  
e-mail: iritraore@yahoo.com  
www: http://www.erails.net/CM/asss-africasoils/asss-africasoils/
 ttp://www.erails.net/images/cameroon/asss-africasoils/asss-africasoils/files/Programme%207th%20ASSS%20Conference%207-14%20Febr.pdf