From scattered data to site-specific nutrient recommendation systems: A data driven approach for Kenya

Kenya’s agricultural productivity is constrained by declining soil fertility, low fertilizer use efficiency, and the underutilization of extensive but fragmented agronomic research data. To address this, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IITA, and KALRO collaborated to consolidate, harmonize, and quality-assure legacy agronomic datasets and integrate them with soil, climate, and geospatial data through the AgWise framework to generate site-specific nutrient recommendations. The initiative established a standardized agronomic database and reproducible modelling workflows while strengthening institutional capacity and collaboration in data engineering and nutrient recommendation modelling. These achievements provide a foundation for nationwide validation and scaling of site-specific recommendations, with continued investment in FAIR data stewardship, model development, and institutional collaboration enabling expansion beyond maize and contributing to improved nutrient use efficiency, crop productivity, and sustainable soil health management in Kenya.