Join us for an insightful webinar on the role of soil fertility management for crop productivity and nutrition. The language of the Webinar is English.

Despite major gains in agricultural productivity, two persistent challenges continue to threaten global food and nutrition security: yield gaps and suboptimal nutritional quality. Both are closely linked to soil fertility constraints, a key limiting factor in many agricultural systems. Inadequate soil fertility, combined with inefficient nutrient management and climate stressors, reduces nutrient availability and limits crop growth, preventing many systems from reaching their full yield potential. Soil fertility constraints also influence crop nutritional quality, contributing in some contexts to micronutrient deficiencies and hidden hunger, even where yields are relatively high. 

In response to these challenges, the International Network on Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (INSOILFER) of the FAO Global Soil Partnership (GSP), under the leadership of its Working Group 2 on Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Management is organizing a webinar, titled “Managing soil nutrients for productive and nutritious crops”. This webinar will explore how improved soil fertility management is fundamental to building nutrition-sensitive agricultural systems, highlighting its role in addressing yield gaps and enhancing the nutritional quality of harvested crops. 

AGENDA

2:00–2:05 PM — Welcoming words
Thorunn Wolfram 
Senior Land and Water Officer, FAO
GSP Secretary

2:05–2:25 PM — Session 1: The Global Significance of the Yield and Nutrient Gap in Crops
Patricio Grassini
Sunkist Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

2:25–2:30 PM — Q&A

2:30–2:50 PM — Session 2: Closing Yield Gaps through Soil Nutrient Management: A 4R Stewardship Perspective
Shamie Zingore
Director, Research & Development, African Plant Nutrition Institute

2:50–2:55 PM — Q&A

2:55–3:15 PM — Session 3: On-Farm Diversification for Soil Nutrient Management and Crop Nutrition
Marta W. Vasconcelos
Professor and Deputy Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

3:15–3:20 PM — Q&A

3:20–3:45 PM — Discussion Session: Towards Productive and Nutrition-Sensitive Agricultural Systems

3:45–3:55 PM — Closing Remarks
Ndzana Georges Martial
Chair, INSOILFER

Our panelists

Patricio Grassini

Dr. Patricio Grassini is a Sunkist Distinguished Professor in Agronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Patricio earned a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and a Ph.D. in Agronomy from UNL. He has authored over 100 articles published in international peer-review journals, including top-tier journals such as Nature Communications, Nature Sustainability, Nature Food, and PNAS. Patricio was listed within the top 1% Most Highly Cited Researchers in the discipline in the world according to the Web of Science Stanford/Elsevier and the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List. His research interests center on yield potential, productivity gaps, and resource-use efficiency in agricultural systems. Patricio’s applied research covers a diverse range of cropping systems, including rainfed and irrigated grain crops in South America, the U.S. Corn Belt, and Asia, and oil palm in Southeast Asia. He leads the Global Yield Potential and Yield Gap Atlas (www.yieldgap.org), which provides estimates of yield potential and yield gaps for major cropping systems around the world.

Shamie Zingore 

Dr. Shamie Zingore is Director of Research and Development at the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) in Benguérir, Morocco. Shamie is an internationally recognized expert in plant nutrition and soil health, he has over 20 years of experience advancing sustainable soil fertility management across Africa. Dr. Zingore has been instrumental in promoting the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework, helping improve nutrient use efficiency and agricultural productivity. He has collaborated with numerous international research and development organizations, generating evidence that informs policy, investment, and on-the-ground interventions to address food insecurity, land degradation, and climate change. Prior to joining APNI, he served as Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa at the International Plant Nutrition Institute and worked as a scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. He holds a PhD in Soil Science and Farming Systems Analysis from Wageningen University, and MSc and BSc degrees from the University of Zimbabwe. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to several scientific books.

Marta Vasconcelos

Marta Vasconcelos is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University (ESB-UCP), where she currently leads the Environment and Resources Group and the PlanTech Laboratory. She is a member of the Scientific Panel for Sustainable Plant Nutrition (SPRPN) and an Honorary Associate at the James Hutton Institute (UK). She is a member of the Executive Committee at the UCP´s Porto Regional Center. From 2021 to 2025, she served as President of the International Plant Nutrition Council (IPNC). She was Vice Director of the Faculty of Biotechnology (ESB) and of the Center for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF) at ESB-UCP. She has authored or co-authored more than 160 scientific publications. Her group works at the interface between plant and human nutrition and promotes nutrient-dense, plant-based foods to support more sustainable agri-food systems. She has a long and successful track record of coordinating and participating in European projects on crop diversification, value chains, plant nutrition, and climate change.