The second award of the Glinka World Soil Prize
The second Glinka for excellence and innovation in soil science was granted to Argentine No Till Farmers Association
“El Premio Glinka de FAO nos posiciona frente al mundo como referentes en conservación de suelos. De alguna manera este diploma en sustentabilidad nos ayudará a situarnos como agentes de protección de los recursos naturales, brindando más oportunidades de interacción, diálogo y trabajo en conjunto” said Santiago Nocelli Pac, President of Aapresid, and added: “No nos premian por producir, sino por producir y conservar.”
The 2017 Laureate is the NGO Argentine No Till Farmers Association (Aapresid) “sustenabilidad sin frontiera”, which made a clear contribution in the dissemination of sustainable soil practices in the region and beyond.
Aapresid was created 30 years ago to fight against the high rates of erosion caused by conventional tilling practices. As a consequence, yields in Argentina were decreasing and severe consequences on soil organic carbon stocks and water availability were envisaged for the next future. Initially, small farmers and technicians started using soil machineries - with the help of local industries - that perform seeding without disturbing the soil, and adopting practices from conservation agriculture.
The group enormously increased in size: agricultural farmers and agronomists joined Aapresid, which rapidly became an open network of innovative farmers receptive to science and to technological advances. This network comprises around 2 500 farmers from Argentina and Brazil, over 200 institutions, 100 companies, and 150 media partners working along with governments on sustainable agricultural practices.
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