MATI and IITA launch five-year rock dust trials in Africa

MATI and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture have signed a five-year agreement at COP31 to test crushed basalt in Kenya and Nigeria. The field trials aim to show whether enhanced rock weathering can improve soil health, crop yields, fertiliser efficiency and climate resilience for African smallholder farmers.

Why it matters: - Smallholder farmers in Africa face hotter seasons, longer dry spells and high fertiliser costs. - The partnership aims to generate local evidence on whether crushed basalt can improve yields, soil health and resilience in African farming systems. - The results could influence advisory services, research priorities and climate policy decisions if the trials show the approach works under African conditions.

What happened: - MATI and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding for a five-year collaboration during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. - The agreement covers field trials in Kenya and Nigeria, data sharing, scientific publication, capacity building with national research institutions and joint fundraising. - The MOU was signed by Shantanu Agarwal, founder and CEO of MATI; John Choptiany, Resilience and Climate Adaptation Program Lead at IITA; and Todd Rosenstock, Director of Climate Action at CGIAR. - The signing took place at the Food and Agriculture Pavilion hosted by CGIAR and FAO.

The details: - The trials will test enhanced rock weathering, using crushed basalt applied to soil. - Researchers will examine effects on soil health and crop growth. - The work will also study how rock dust performs alongside reduced synthetic fertiliser use. - The collaboration will help identify soil types and farming systems where the approach is most effective. - The goal is to build an agronomic evidence base that can guide research and policy on where enhanced rock weathering is suitable. - The partnership links into two CGIAR Science Programs. - The CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program will connect results to advisory services that reach farmers. - The CGIAR Climate Action Program will link the evidence to work on adaptation, emissions reduction and climate finance decisions. - IITA says the trials will show whether crushed basalt can help farmers get more from each bag of fertiliser and keep harvests steadier when weather conditions worsen. - MATI says the company applies natural rock dust to fields managed by smallholder farmers at no cost to them. - MATI says the material can help address soil acidity and supply nutrients. - As rock weathers, it can also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through enhanced rock weathering. - MATI reported that a 2025 kharif-season rice comparison across 235 farmer fields in four Indian states found a median 25% increase in grain yield on treated fields versus control plots. - The reported India result is specific to that study and is not evidence that the same outcome will occur in African systems. - MATI says more than 35,000 farmers are working with the company and more than 350,000 tons of rock dust have been applied across seven countries. - MATI says its work in India has been under way for about five years. - MATI began work in Zambia in 2023 and has since generated initial results. - The African trials will test rock dust across different soils, crops and application rates. - The partners will also assess how the approach works alongside synthetic fertiliser and what it could mean for soil health, crop performance and farmer resilience. - MATI says the collaboration will help establish where rock dust may benefit crop production, the scale of any benefits and how it should be applied. - More information is available in MATI's announcement and on IITA's website.

Between the lines: - The deal gives MATI a pathway to test its carbon-removal and agronomy model in African conditions with a major regional research institution. - IITA and CGIAR are positioning the work as both a farm productivity study and a climate-adaptation effort. - The emphasis on national research institutions suggests an effort to make the findings credible to governments and extension systems, not just to private-sector buyers. - The reported India yields may help attract interest, but the article repeatedly frames Africa as a separate evidence question that still needs field validation.

What's next: - Field trials will begin under the five-year framework in Kenya and Nigeria. - The partners will collect and analyze data, publish results and use the findings to inform future research and policy. - Joint fundraising will support the work as it moves from agreement to implementation. - If the evidence is positive, the partners expect the practice could be expanded beyond the initial trial sites.