It takes millennia for soils to form. At the same time, this raw material is finite. Overexploitation can result in nutrient depletion and soil erosion, and even to complete destruction. Climate change exacerbates these effects, for example through periods of drought or more frequent heavy rainfall. Every year, some ten million hectares of soil are destroyed in this way worldwide, which corresponds to an area around one third of the size of Germany. The amount of land available for agricultural use is shrinking, while at the same time the number of people that require food is rising.

These developments have immediate consequences, in particular for smallholders in developing countries, because soil degradation has direct impacts not only on their income, but also on their food situation. A decade ago, a family might have been able to cultivate three hectares of cassava, but today the usable area will already have shrunk by half – and with it the size and quality of the harvest.