In West Africa, a 700-year-old practice called “African dark earths” is said to change poor rainforest soil into fertile land.
A study carried out by the University of Sussex in England stated that the centuries-old farming technique can help fight climate change and alter the face of agriculture all over the world. A fertile black soil is produced by adding kitchen waste and charcoal to tropical soil.
An anthropologist behind the study explained that the soil has the capability to trap carbon and reduce the production of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Moreover, the soil contains more than 300% organic carbon compared to other soils.
A group of anthropologists and soil scientists conducted the study in Liberia and Ghana by studying almost 200 locations across the two countries.
Professor James Fairhead from the University of Sussex said that the lack of active communication with African farmers is one of the reasons why a very basic farming method had not been studied.
Fairhead stressed that soil scientists need to pay more focus and respect to the existing farming techniques that can help improve the production of food and diminish carbon.
