Soil Specialist Enthusiastic for International Partnerships

By Amy Burtch

Healthy soil is the foundation of sustainable agriculture. No one knows this better than Luke Gatiboni.

A professor and Extension specialist in soil fertility and nutrient management at NC State University, Gatiboni says he’s “very enthusiastic for international research and leaning into the university’s mission to help international partners.” 

As a land-grant university, NC State is charged with supporting communities near and far. And the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) takes that mission seriously. 

This fall, eight CALS faculty members traveled to Malawi to meet with Malawian government and university representatives about research and extension opportunities. 

Willing to Go 

NC State has a rich history of partnering with international communities. Agricultural researchers and Extension personnel have worked in Latin America, Indonesia and Central America in the TropSoils Program, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Gatiboni, a faculty member in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, became involved in the Malawi trip following an NC State symposium about building partnerships for health and sustainable agriculture development in East Africa. 

“I met people from Kenya at the symposium and then turned to CALS International Programs to consider opportunities in East Africa,” Gatiboni says. 

The visit was Gatiboni’s first to Malawi. He was motivated because Africa is struggling with food insecurity, and he thinks Malawi could benefit from partnering with NC State.

“I compare Africa now with where Latin America was 60 years ago, before NC State started helping,” he says. “We can partner with Africa like we did Latin America in the ‘70s, helping them to transition from a subsistence farming model to a commercial farming model.” 

Malawian Experience 

CALS International Programs strives to build partnerships with different countries, especially in South America, East Africa and Eastern Europe. This team facilitates international opportunities for CALS faculty, including Gatiboni’s Malawian experience. 

The cohort mostly stayed in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, but they also visited a megafarm and a public Malawian university. 

“The government is using farms — called megafarms — as models where they implement new technologies,” Gatiboni explains. “They use the megafarms to demonstrate to other farmers the technologies or models they are testing.” 

These megafarms are small compared to North Carolina farms, but they grow similar crops, like peppers, cabbage, peanuts, soybeans and corn. 

“I realized we could have an impact here,” Gatiboni says. “We can use the information our Extension system develops in North Carolina, adapt the technology to the Malawian environment and produce a good impact for Malawian farmers.”

Productive Discussions 

CALS faculty traveled to Malawi because the government is interested in expanding its relationship with NC State. 

They’ve experienced the success of working with Extension Specialist Rick Brandenburg on peanut production and wanted to pull in more CALS faculty to improve their applied research and extension. 

CALS faculty met with representatives from Malawi’s Department of Agricultural Research, Department of Extension, Department of Irrigation, and Department of Animal Health and Livestock Services, along with faculty from three of the country’s public universities. 

“We discussed different activities that could happen in Malawi to help develop agriculture there,” Gatiboni says. “They seek to identify value chains they can extend, like tomato and dairy production. We then helped to identify their research and extension gaps and how we can help solve those issues.” 

Gatiboni feels better informed to write proposals to international agencies to support Malawian development. After returning to the U.S., he submitted a preproposal to the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) that includes a partnership with Malawian researchers to study the performance of enhanced efficiency fertilizers. 

“These small collaborative activities that bring in some seed money could be the bridge for future bigger projects with agencies like the Gates Foundation or the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” he says.  

Benefit of Expanding Knowledge 

Gatiboni says he learned from working with leaders and colleagues in Malawi. 

“The benefit is expanding knowledge,” he says. “When you go to a different culture, you put things in perspective due to these new interactions.” 

He also believes his international work enhances CALS students’ experience in the classroom because he can compare agriculture in North Carolina to practices in other areas of the world. 

The benefits for the Malawian partners also have the potential of being immense. 

“They have problems with agriculture because they are in the early stages of development, much more in a subsistence farming model,” Gatiboni says. “They did not have much technology on their farms, but NC State can expand that with simple implementations.” 

For example, Malawi has poor soils in terms of nutrients, but due to Gatiboni’s experience in North Carolina and Latin America, he knows neutralizing the soil acidity and adding nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen can make a big difference. 

“It’s just the technology transfer that is missing, the extension piece, and we can have a huge impact if we build this relationship. This is the way to go.” 

Gatiboni’s hope is to return to Malawi with “boots on the ground” and create demonstration plots on the megafarms — not just planning, but really starting something will be the next step.