NSIS GeoPortal National Soil Information System, Ethiopia (Ministry of Agriculture)

Overview

The NSIS GeoPortal (nsis.moa.gov.et) is a web-based geospatial data platform operated by Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) that provides access to national soil information, agricultural datasets, and related geospatial resources. It is built on the open-source GeoNode platform and serves as the digital infrastructure for Ethiopia's National Soil Information System (NSIS).

History and Background

The National Soil Information System (NSIS) evolved from the Ethiopian Soil Information System (EthioSIS) project, which was initiated by the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) in 2012 to develop digital soil fertility maps for Ethiopian agricultural land. NSIS was formally established in 2017 under the Ministry of Agriculture's Soil Resource Development Lead Executive Office (SRD-LEO). Since 2017, NSIS has been progressively enhanced with support from ISRIC – World Soil Information, funded through USAID's Feed the Future program, as well as contributions from GIZ, CIAT, CABI, the Open Data Institute, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Collections and Data Holdings

The NSIS GeoPortal hosts soil survey data, soil fertility maps, soil nutrient maps (including EthioSIS datasets with approximately 70,000–100,000 soil sample records), and related landscape datasets. Data products include woreda (district)-level soil fertility and fertilizer formulation maps generated using digital soil mapping and machine learning models. The portal supports data discovery, download, and visualization using standard geospatial formats. A national soil and agronomy data-sharing directive governing data access and reuse was formalized in 2023.

Access and Usage

The NSIS GeoPortal is publicly accessible. Users can search for, view, and download geospatial datasets. Data sharing is governed by the MoA's national soil and agronomy data management, use, and sharing directive. Registered users can contribute datasets. The platform serves government policymakers, agricultural extension officers, researchers, and development partners working on soil health, land management, and digital agriculture in Ethiopia.