Uganda rolls out the Global Soil Doctors Programme to bring soil health closer to farmers in Karamoja.
Uganda has rolled out the Global Soil Doctors Programme, a global initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), to strengthen national capacities for sustainable soil management and support farmers in protecting and restoring their soils. The programme is being piloted in the Karamoja sub-region in Nakapiripirit and Amudat districts, where increasing pressure on land, recurrent dry spells, floods and limited access to soil testing services have left many farmers struggling with declining soil fertility.
For years, diagnosing soil problems in districts such as Nakapiripirit and Amudat was costly and out of reach for most smallholder farmers.
“We have been facing challenges with diagnosing soil problems,” said Aisu Jolly, an Agricultural Officer in Kakomongole Sub-county, Nakapiripirit District who participated in the training. “For a farmer here to access soil analysis services, they would need between one and two million Uganda shillings (approximately USD 280 to USD 560) to cover testing and related costs. That is very expensive for farmers who are just starting to embrace crop production.”
With many communities in the region transitioning from pastoralism to crop production, such costs discourage farmers from investing in their land. The Global Soil Doctors programme is changing that narrative by equipping extension workers and farmers with simple, low-cost tools to assess soil health directly in the field, Aisu added.
Training future Soil Doctors
The first training sessions were conducted under the European Union (EU)-funded Improving Food Security and Resilience of Food Production Systems in Karamoja (FOSTER) Project, with technical support from FAO through its GSP. The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)- Serere, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is serving as the national promoter, working closely with Busitema University.
During the training sessions, 15 Soil Doctor trainers and 23 Soil Doctors were equipped with practical skills in soil health visual assessment and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In total, 45 Soil Doctors and approximately 135 farmers will be trained on sustainable soil management, field-based soil assessment and crop pest and disease management.
The training that was held from 02-07 February 2026 combined theoretical sessions with hands-on field exercises, using illustrated posters and simple diagnostic methods. Participants learned how to assess soil texture, aggregate stability, organic matter, and soil pH using soil kits provided by FAO’s GSP and locally available materials. Furthermore, the participants learned how to identify and differentiate pest and disease damage from nutrient deficiencies in the plants.
“This training has exposed us to simple and cheaper methods of doing soil analysis,” Aisu explained. “For example, farmers can use common items such as vinegar and baking soda to test soil pH, materials that are easily accessible in our local markets. A basic soil test can cost less than10,000 Uganda shillings (approximately USD 3). I have learned a lot about soils and can now identify problems by observing the signs crops show in the garden,” said Anne Chegem, Assistant Agricultural Officer in Nakapiripirit District and one of the trainers. “The posters we received will help us train our farmers, and the soil testing kits provided by FAO will go a long way in enabling us to transfer this knowledge to them.”
Field-based soil testing, assessment of soil pH, organic matter, texture and root development. ©FAO/Violet Namata
Practical solutions adapted to local conditions
Field discussions highlighted common soil related challenges that the smallholder farmers face in the semi-arid region, including low soil fertility, crop nutrient deficiencies, and yield failure linked to unsuitable crop-soil combinations.
Lumwai Shadrak,a Plant Doctor and Soil Doctors Trainer,highlighting the key stesps of the soil doctors programme. ©FAO/Violet Namata
According to Lumwai Shadrak, a Plant Doctor from Amudat District Local Government, the Soil Doctors approach strengthens existing plant clinic services. “Sometimes it is not a pest or a disease problem on a plant; it is a nutrient deficiency,” he explained. “With this training, we can now help farmers distinguish between the two and recommend the right management practices.”
Ilukol Karolin, chairperson of Tete Farmer Field School group in Nakapiripirit District, said the training helped her understand their soil. “Sometimes our tomatoes would dry up or flower abnormally,” she recalls. “We assumed the problem was with the seed and would apply pesticides, not realizing the problem was the soil nutrients.”
Now trained as a Soil Doctor, Karolin hopes to begin conducting simple soil assessments before planting. “We have realized that some crops are not supposed to be planted in certain types of soil,” she said. “With this knowledge, we hope to choose crops that are suitable for our gardens and improve how we manage our soil.”
She plans to train more than 100 farmers within her network. “If I train them, and they, in turn, train others, the knowledge will expand. Together, we can reduce losses caused by poor soil management.”