​Soil data is essential for sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, environmental research, and informed policymaking. Yet much of the world's soil data remains fragmented, difficult to access, and challenging to reuse across different systems.

​By releasing SoilHive as open-source software, Varda Foundation aims to make it easier for organisations to manage, share, and reuse their soil data, deciding for themselves what to share, when, and with whom. The goal is to turn SoilHive into a shared foundation for innovation, without centralizing control in any single institution.

​You can already explore the platform and get a first look at the codebase: try out the beta version of the platform and check out the GitHub repository.

​This transition is part of the project "Establishing an Ecosystem of Soil Data-Driven Services," in which Varda is tasked with open-sourcing the platform, building a federated ecosystem that shares metadata across instances, making data discoverable while it remains fully owned and controlled by the hosting organisation, and developing new functionalities to grow a soil health data service ecosystem.

​The project is carried out in partnership with CIFOR-ICRAF and CA4SH, funded by NORAD, with co-development support from four key institutional partners: CSIR, TARI, KALRO, and Malawi's DARS.

​During the webinar, representatives from the partner organisations will:

• ​Present the vision and objectives behind SoilHive Open Source

• ​Discuss why open and interoperable soil data matters for agriculture, climate, and sustainable development

• ​Reflect on the role of institutional collaboration in strengthening soil information systems

• ​Introduce the principles guiding SoilHive's development: openness, interoperability, federation, and data sovereignty

• ​Outline the next phase of the initiative and opportunities for engagement

​Agenda

​01:00 – 01:10 | Welcome and Webinar Framing
Simone Sala, Varda Foundation
Kicking off the webinar: why this moment matters for the future of soil data

​01:10 – 01:15 | Institutional Opening
Ingvild Langhus, NORAD

​01:15 – 01:20 | Project Overview
Leigh Winowiecki, CIFOR-ICRAF
Establishing an Ecosystem of Soil Data-Driven Services: inside the three-year initiative (2025–2028) building this ecosystem from the ground up

​01:20 – 01:30 | SoilHive Becomes Open Source: Federated Architecture & Data Sovereignty
Roberto Prato, Varda Foundation & Christer Gundersen, NORAD
A conversation on the reasoning behind SoilHive's technical and strategic choices: why open-source, why federated, why cloud-agnostic, and what comes next

​01:30 – 01:40 | How to Deploy SoilHive
Roberto Prato, Varda Foundation
A quick tour of the GitHub repository: what's inside, and how to get your own instance running

​01:40 – 02:00 | Live Demo of the SoilHive Open Source Node
Alessandra Scordino, Varda Foundation
A hands-on walkthrough of the platform anyone can now deploy and run

​02:00 – 02:15 | Q&A Session
Simone Sala, Varda Foundation
Your questions

​02:15 – 02:30 | National Digital Capabilities for Soil Health
A conversation with representatives from national institutions on how open soil data infrastructure supports local decision-making and technical capacity

​02:30 – 02:45 | Public and Private Efforts for Soil Health
A discussion with public and private sector voices on the opportunities and challenges of building a shared, interoperable soil data ecosystem

​02:45 – 02:50 | Closing Remarks
Ingvild Langhus, NORAD
Looking ahead to what this ecosystem can become