Posted on January, 16, 2025 at 08:52 am
Healthy soil is the foundation of sustainable agriculture. No one knows this better than Luke Gatiboni.
A professor and Extension specialist in soil fertility and nutrient management at NC State University, Gatiboni says he’s “very enthusiastic for international research and leaning into the university’s mission to help international partners.”
As a land-grant university, NC State is charged with supporting communities near and far. And the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) takes that mission seriously.
This fall, eight CALS faculty members traveled to Malawi to meet with Malawian government and university representatives about research and extension opportunities.
NC State has a rich history of partnering with international communities. Agricultural researchers and Extension personnel have worked in Latin America, Indonesia and Central America in the TropSoils Program, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Gatiboni, a faculty member in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, became involved in the Malawi trip following an NC State symposium about building partnerships for health and sustainable agriculture development in East Africa.
“I met people from Kenya at the symposium and then turned to CALS International Programs to consider opportunities in East Africa,” Gatiboni says.
The visit was Gatiboni’s first to Malawi. He was motivated because Africa is struggling with food insecurity, and he thinks Malawi could benefit from partnering with NC State.
“I compare Africa now with where Latin America was 60 years ago, before NC State started helping,” he says. “We can partner with Africa like we did Latin America in the ‘70s, helping them to transition from a subsistence farming model to a commercial farming model.”
CALS International Programs strives to build partnerships with different countries, especially in South America, East Africa and Eastern Europe. This team facilitates international opportunities for CALS faculty, including Gatiboni’s Malawian experience.
The cohort mostly stayed in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, but they also visited a megafarm and a public Malawian university.
“The government is using farms — called megafarms — as models where they implement new technologies,” Gatiboni explains. “They use the megafarms to demonstrate to other farmers the technologies or models they are testing.”
These megafarms are small compared to North Carolina farms, but they grow similar crops, like peppers, cabbage, peanuts, soybeans and corn.
“I realized we could have an impact here,” Gatiboni says. “We can use the information our Extension system develops in North Carolina, adapt the technology to the Malawian environment and produce a good impact for Malawian farmers.”
Source: NC STATE UNIVERSITY