KALRO and ISRIC host training on LSC hub operation and maintenance

Date: August 25, 2025    Author: Paul van Genuchten (ISRIC)

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and ISRIC - World Soil Information organised and facilitated a 4-day training on ‘LSC hub operation and maintenance’ from 4 to 8 August 2025 in Naivasha, Kenya.

Participants

NAIVASHA, KENYA: As part of the Land Soil Crop Hubs (LSC Hubs) project, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and ISRIC - World Soil Information organised a four-day training on ‘LSC hub operation and maintenance’ from 5 to 8 August 2025 in Naivasha, Kenya. The training was facilitated by Paul van Genuchten, spatial data infrastructures expert at ISRIC.

The training aimed to strengthen KALRO’s capacity to host, maintain, and operate the national LSC hub. It was designed for ICT staff, data scientists from the soil and crop departments, and staff from the knowledge management department, with a focus on the technologies recommended for the hub deployment. This training was built on a previous training held in December 2023 on effective data management and dissemination.

Over the course of four days, participants deepened both their technical skills and collaborative practices:

  • Day 1: Introductions to the project objectives, along with practical sessions on GitHub and Docker technologies, essential tools for the training programme.

  • Day 2: In-depth examination of the system architecture, followed by a presentation from the Knowledge Management team that sparked discussion on enhancing cross-team collaboration.

  • Day 3: Finalisation of the architecture components overview to ensure that all participants understood the technical framework, along with practical sessions on deploying the LSC hub using automated processes to streamline operations.

  • Day 4: Open discussions to address pending issues, concluding with a group evaluation to reflect on the week’s progress, share feedback, and identify areas for future improvement.

The training was evaluated as relevant, practical, and engaging. Participants emphasised the need for:

  • Additional training on Python scripting to support automated pipelines.

  • Clearer explanations of the relationship between the training and the actual LSC hub operation.

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