Dr. Cyril Dziedzorm Boateng of the Department of Physics, KNUST, has secured funding from the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) for a project aimed at improving climate resilience and sustainable food production through innovative geophysical technologies.

The project, titled “Geophysics for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa,” will use advanced geophysical monitoring techniques to better understand how water moves through soils and how different farming practices affect crop productivity, groundwater resources and greenhouse gas emissions.

Working in collaboration with the British Geological Survey, the University of Nottingham, CSIR-Crops Research Institute, and the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the project will develop and deploy low-cost Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) systems for agricultural monitoring in Ghana.

ERT is a geophysical imaging technique that provides detailed information about water distribution beneath the ground surface.

The technology allows researchers to generate real-time images of soil moisture conditions and track changes over time, providing valuable data for agricultural decision-making.

Studies have shown that such approaches can improve understanding of water storage, infiltration and drought resilience in farming systems.

The monitoring systems will be deployed at experimental sites of the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, where they will be used to evaluate climate-smart agricultural interventions such as intercropping, conservation tillage and crop residue management.

Beyond its scientific objectives, the project places strong emphasis on capacity building. It will provide training opportunities for African researchers in soil physics and geophysics, while promoting gender equity and supporting the development of early-career scientists.

As climate change continues to threaten agricultural productivity across Africa, the project is expected to generate evidence-based solutions that support food security, water resource management and sustainable agricultural development.