Researchers and development professionals with experience and interest in biochar are being sought for a new network.

The SIANI African Biochar Expert group is interested in getting in touch with ongoing biochar activities in Africa, as well as with people who are interested in information about biochar development in Africa. The group’s role is to coordinate, communicate and build capacity of research and development on pyrolysis and biochar as technologies for optimized biomass use for improved resource management, energy efficiency and soil fertility in Africa.

The group will meet in Potsdam, Germany on the sidelines of the Biochar Symposium, with meetings scheduled for 27 and 30 May 2015.

Biochar has recently gained attention in scientific and popular media for its potential to sequester carbon and enhance soil fertility. It has the potential to contribute to improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers, especially women, through increased soil fertility, farm productivity, energy efficiency, improved health and reduced drudgery, but it is a relative young field of research.

Among the organizations currently represented in the SIANI African Biochar Expert group are: the World Agroforestry Centre, International Insitute for Tropical Agriuclture (IITA), KNUST Ghana, CSIR Ghana, University of Nairobi, ISRA Senegal, University of Ibadan Nigeria, Sanergy Kenya, Lund University Sweden and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

For more information, visit http://www.siani.se/expert-groups/african-biochar.