Our Vision
To help make global farming more sustainable and equitable by improving and expanding the use of beneficial microorganisms for the delivery of nutrients essential for crop production.
Soybean and cowpea sold on a market in Accra, Ghana. Credit: Carlos Restrepo / Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One)
Our leadership
“One of the major challenges of global farming today is to feed the growing population in a sustainable fashion. To do this, we need changes and innovations. As scientists, we like to turn to solutions that nature has invented – making our approaches sustainable.”
Uta Paszkowski ENSA Administrative Director Professor at the University of Cambridge
“Agricultural transformation begins with discovery science that has a global impact. Nature has spent millions of years evolving plant–microbe partnerships. Our mission is to learn from those systems, to improve and mindfully transfer new capacities to crops.”
Simona Radutoiu ENSA Scientific Director Professor at Aarhus University
Our story
Global farming needs to be equitable and sustainable
Scientists from internationally renowned institutions are collaborating as part of ENSA to help make global farming more equitable and sustainable. ENSA’s research aims to transfer or advance the symbioses between crops and the soil microbiome to increase crop yields for global farmers while lessening the need for nitrogen fertilisers. This has the potential to enable major economic benefits for farmers, their families and communities, while improving soil health.
Maize growing in a farmer’s field in Ghana. Credit: Emily Servanté / ENSA, University of Cambridge
Improving crop yields without the need for inorganic fertiliser
Crop yields in some low-income countries are at a fraction of their potential with many small-scale farmers working with nutrient depleted soils. Nitrogen fertilisers are one option to improve crop yields, and it is estimated that they support around half of the global population today. But they remain costly or inaccessible for many smallholder farmers. Additionally, fertiliser run-off can threaten waterways, and its production and use can release greenhouse gases that worsen climate change.
Maize being harvested in West Africa. Credit: Carlos Restrepo / Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One)
Developing crops that can thrive in degraded soils
ENSA scientists are researching the natural symbioses between plants and soil microbes that help plants access nutrients. ENSA’s goal is to improve or transfer these abilities to crops like cassava, maize, rice, cowpea, and soybean. The research is complex and highly challenging – yet the potential benefits could be enormous. Crops that can make their own fertiliser could boost yields for smallholder farmers and reduce reliance on chemical fertilisers, improving soil health and strengthening rural economies. Ultimately, ENSA aims to support more equitable and sustainable farming worldwide.
Eve Teyssier, ENSA Postdoctoral Fellow at Aarhus University, researches the symbiosis between plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Credit: Andrea Lif / AU Foto, Aarhus University
More about ENSA
ENSA is an international scientific project researching beneficial interactions between plants and the soil microbiome. By harnessing these natural symbioses and enhancing or transferring them to crops, ENSA aims to improve uptake of nutrients and thereby reduce fertiliser dependence. This improves crop yield, soil health, and offers more environmentally sustainable and affordable options for global farmers.
Established in 2012, ENSA is a partnership between the University of Cambridge Crop Science Centre, Aarhus University, University of Oxford, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, La Trobe University, Niab, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Royal Holloway University of London, Penn State College of Agriculture Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, and the University of Illinois.
The ENSA project receives current grant funding from Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One) and has previously been supported (2012-2024) through grants from the Gates Foundation and the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.