International Programs
International efforts by the Soil Science Department began in the 1960s
under funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Since 1981 the Soil Science Department has been an active member of the Soil
Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SM-CRSP) funded under Title
XII of the United States Foreign Assistance Act. The SM-CRSP is also funded by
the USAID and involves several U.S. land-grant universities.
During the first 14 years the SM-CRSP worked with overseas collaborators to expand the soils knowledge base and improve soil-management practices in tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The collaborative effort concentrated on three agro-ecological zones: the humid tropics of Peru and Indonesia; the semi-arid tropics of Niger and Mali; and the acid savannas of Brazil. The program also sponsored advanced degrees for 115 individuals from developing countries at four U.S. member-institutions (Cornell University, University of Hawaii, North Carolina State University, and Texas A&M University). These graduates are a major soils-resource talent for their home countries and the continuing activities of the SM-CRSP.
In 1995 the SM-CRSP was re-structured when the USAID Office of Agriculture and
Food Security initiated a plan to focus research capabilities on "Integrated
Nutrient Management". The current SM-CRSP project at North Carolina State has
focused on "Adoption of the Nutrient Management Support System (NuMaSS) Software
Throughout Latin America"
Jot Smyth
provides overall project coordination.