Data sources & methodology

ShambaIQ's soil readings (pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and organic carbon) are built on open, peer reviewed soil datasets. We aggregate them to county and ward level and interpret them for fertilizer planning.

iSDAsoil, 30m soil properties for Africa

CC BY 4.0

Predicted soil nutrient and property maps at 30 metre resolution across Africa, produced by iSDA (Innovative Solutions for Decision Agriculture). This is the basis of ShambaIQ's precision soil readings.

isda-africa.com/isdasoil · License: CC BY 4.0

ISRIC SoilGrids

CC BY 4.0

Global gridded soil information from ISRIC, World Soil Information, used as a fallback where iSDAsoil coverage is unavailable.

soilgrids.org · License: CC BY 4.0

Citation. Hengl, T., Miller, M.A.E., Krizan, J. et al. (2021). African soil properties and nutrients mapped at 30 m spatial resolution using two-scale ensemble machine learning. Scientific Reports 11, 6130. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85639-y

How we use it. ShambaIQ aggregates the 30m predictions to county and ward baselines, then combines them with rainfall, altitude and crop requirement models to generate recommendations. The data has been processed and interpreted by ShambaIQ and is not endorsed by iSDA or ISRIC.

Please note. Recommendations are guidance, not a substitute for a laboratory soil test. For the most accurate plan, enter your own lab results in the soil test tool.