Welcome to part 4 of our mini series promoting #WorldSoilDay on 5th December 2021. In this piece we cover healthy soils. This is part of our series on Growing Sustainably.
You can find all content in this mini series at Mini Series: #WorldSoilDay 2021 Salt Affected Soils.
If you already know that you have the power to improve soils and help climate change by making conscious buying decisions, here are the options:
- Check out #VoteWithOurMoney with 6 Steps to Help Stop Climate Change
- Try the Sustainability Roadmap with 40+ Solutions to Climate Change
- Use the Company Directory to Help You Grow, Eat, and Live Sustainably
If you want some more facts before making any decisions, let’s get into the details:
The source is content for this article is fao.org/documents/card/en/c/645883cd-ba28-4b16-a7b8-34babbb3c505/ and fao.org/resources/infographics/infographics-details/en/c/281883/.
Part 3 of this mini series was the #WorldSoilDay 2021 Video Hub. This time we’re looking at the importance of healthy soils.
Key Facts About Healthy Soils
- 95% of our food is directly or indirectly produced on our soils
- A shortage of any one of the 15 nutrients required for plant growth can limit crop yield
- By 2050, agricultural production must increase by 60% globally – in order to meet food demand alone
- Sustainable management of healthy soils could produce up to 58% more food
Healthy Soils Are the Basis for Healthy Food Production
Healthy soils are the foundation of the food system. Our soils are the basis for agriculture and the medium in which nearly all food-producing plants grow. Healthy soils produce healthy crops that in turn nourish people and animals, which means soil quality is directly linked to food quality and quantity.
With a global population that is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, compounded by competition for land and water resources, and the impact of climate change, our current and future food security hinges on our ability to increase yields and food quality using the soils that are already under production.
What Is Healthy Soil?
Soil health has been defined as the capacity of soil to function as a living system. Healthy soils maintain a diverse community of soil organisms that help to control plant disease, insect and weed pests, form beneficial symbiotic associations with plant roots, recycle essential plant nutrients, improve soil structure with positive effects for soil water and nutrient holding capacity, and ultimately improve crop production. A healthy soil also contributes to mitigating climate change by maintaining or increasing its carbon content.
Healthy Soils and Food Security
Food availability relies on soils: nutritious and good quality food and animal fodder can only be produced if our soils are healthy. A healthy living soil is therefore a crucial ally to food security and nutrition.
In the past 50 years, advances in agricultural technology led to a quantum leap in food production and bolstered world food security. However, in many countries this intensive crop production has depleted the soil, jeopardizing our ability to maintain production in these areas in the future.
Numerous and diverse farming approaches promote the sustainable management of soils with the goal of improving productivity, for instance: regenerative agriculture, biodynamic farming, agroecology, conservation agriculture, organic farming (if practiced with regeneration in mind), zero tillage farming, and agroforestry.
Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that gives back more than it takes out. Regenerative Agriculture increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves the land’s ability to drain water into streams and rivers, and enhances ecosystems. It aims to capture carbon in the soil and plants (biomass), reversing the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere that is one of the causes of climate change.
Biodynamic farming is a regenerative, sustainable, and organic form of agriculture that aims to give back more than it takes. It’s about farming in a way that is ecological, ethical, and as part of nature with the knowledge that everything is connected. Instead of buying everything in, Biodynamic farmers aim to be as self-sufficient as possible, seeing their farm as its own ecosystem.
Agroecology uses ecological theory to study and manage agricultural systems in order to make them both more productive and better at conserving natural resources. This whole systems approach to agriculture and food systems development is based on a wide variety of technologies, practices and innovations, including local and traditional knowledge as well as modern science. By understanding and working with the interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment within agricultural systems, agroecology encompasses multiple dimensions of the food system, including ecological, economic and social.
Organic farming is agricultural production without the use of synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. It also emphasises a holistic farm management approach, where rotations and animals play an integral role to the system. Soil fertility is the cornerstone of organic management. Because organic farmers do not use synthetic nutrients to restore degraded soil, they must concentrate on building and maintaining soil fertility primarily through their basic farming practices.
Conservation agriculture practices have significantly improved soil conditions, reduced land degradation and boosted yields in many parts of the world by following three principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations. To be sustainable in the long term, the loss of organic matter in any agricultural system must never exceed the rate of soil formation. In most agro-ecosystems, that is not possible if the soil is mechanically disturbed. Therefore, one of the tenets of conservation agriculture is limiting the use of mechanical soil disturbance, or tilling, in the farming process.
Zero tillage is one of a set of techniques used in conservation agriculture Essentially, it maintains a permanent or semi-permanent organic soil cover (e.g. a growing crop or dead mulch) that protects the soil from sun, rain and wind and allows soil microorganisms and fauna to take on the task of “tilling” and soil nutrient balancing – natural processes that are disturbed by mechanical tillage.
Agroforestry systems include both traditional and modern land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings. The combination of trees, crops and livestock mitigates environmental risk, creates a permanent soil cover against erosion, minimizes damage from flooding and acts as water storage, benefitting crops and pastures.
FAO in Action
Conservation Agriculture in Lesotho
In response to the 2012 food insecurity crisis in Lesotho, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) designed a three-year cycle programme to assist 18,500 households with agricultural inputs and know-how on agricultural technologies helping communities to adapt to climate change, building their resilience to better withstand future shocks. The programme promotes conservation agriculture and improved home gardening and nutrition in all ten districts of Lesotho.
Soil erosion is a major problem in Lesotho affecting both the quality and quantity of harvests. By adopting conservation agriculture, farmers not only ensure better harvests but also contribute to the improvement of soil quality and its preservation.
“Soil anaemia also breeds human anaemia. Micronutrient deficiency in the soil results in micronutrient malnutrition in people, since crops grown on such soils tend to be deficient in the nutrients needed to fight hidden hunger.”
— M.S. Swaminathan
Strengthening Capacity for Sustainable Organic Farming in Palau
The major constraint to increasing agriculture production in Palau is lack of appropriate sustainable technologies to improve the quality of soil for crop production. Palau’s soils are highly weathered, acidic and clayey and there is a limited amount of land that is suitable for agricultural production without substantial inputs and soil amendments. FAO is assisting the Bureau of Agriculture (BOA) in strengthening the Palau Organic Growers Association (POGA) to increase domestic agricultural production through adoption of new sustainable technologies and methods for soil improvements. FAO is facilitating training for POGA farmers and BOA extension staff on key aspects of soil biology, soil testing, fertility improvement strategies, demonstration trials, and other sustainable organic production technologies and crop management. FAO is also supporting farm demonstrations with selected farmers to adapt technologies to local conditions and major crops.
Growing Poplars for Food Security in China
Poplar-based smallholder agroforestry has transformed the flood plains of Siyang County into a mosaic of green activity on the landscape, thanks to assistance from FAO forestry and FAO’s International Poplar Commission. Large swaths of planted poplar trees now protect fields once ravaged by floods, wind, sandstorms and soil erosion, boosting agricultural activities.
Faster leaf decomposition and biomass growth have created a much more fertile soil on once sandy land, which was not always suitable for cultivation. Because of poplars’ compatibility with many crops, farmers can now grow wheat and maize and an abundance of horticulture crops. Smallholder farmers can also use the cut stems of poplar for cultivating mushrooms in their greenhouses.
You Can Improve Soils and Reverse Climate Change
I realised that the decisions I make when buying healthy food, give me the power to help climate change, encourage farmers to switch from degenerative to regenerative agriculture, and improve the health and happiness of my family.
Advocating for regenerative agriculture can seem completely removed from our day to day lives, however, the questions we ask in food shops, the healthy food we buy, and the conscious choices we make are all reminders that we have the power to improve our future and the health of planet earth.
Check-out our 10-part mini series on Conscious Buying Decisions to Help Climate Change with an article going live every week starting from 18th November 2021. You can also get the audio version by subscribing to our podcast or the video version by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
About World Soil Day 2021
Soil salinization and sodification are major soil degradation processes threatening ecosystem and are recognized as being among the most important problems at a global level for agricultural production, food security, and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions. World Soil Day 2021 (#WorldSoilDay) and its campaign “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, fighting soil salinization, increasing soil awareness, and encouraging societies to improve soil health.
Find Out More at UN FAO World Soil Day
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Suggested Reading
If you like the topic of this mini series, you might be interested in these reading suggestions with links to each book on Amazon.
Find Kiss the Ground by Josh Tickell Here on Amazon*
Find Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson Here on Amazon*
Find Soil, Grass, Hope by Courtney White Here on Amazon*
Find Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild by Markegard and Doniga Here on Amazon*
Find Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappé Here on Amazon*
Find Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life by David Montgomery Here on Amazon*
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Sources Used to Create This Piece
Production Notes
This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.
Any advice given is the opinion of those involved and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice.
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