Sustainable soil management vital for agri-food systems

The Global Soil Partnership (GSP) hosted the ninth Plenary Assembly (PA) from the 8 to the 10 September 2021 – an annual gathering of global experts and policymakers to troubleshoot some of the hurdles faced in finding innovative solutions to ensure soils in countries around the world are conserved and sustainably managed. 

The three-day event was chaired by Thanawat Tiensin, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, co-chaired by Luca Montanarella from the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission and Mahmoud Hasan Alferihat from Jordan, acting as the Rapporteur to the Assembly.

Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General opened the conference praising the GSP’s commitment to advance sustainable soil management (SSM) to mitigate the impacts of climate change, safeguard food systems and meet the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Without soil there is no plan B in the fight against climate change. We must re-carbonise our soils, keeping them healthy for planet and people,” said Qu.

Two products designed by FAO’s GSP were launched at the Plenary, the "Global Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration Potential map" and, the "Recarbonizing global soils: a technical manual of recommended management practices."

Both are tools that aim to nurture soil organic carbon (SOC) maintenance and preserve SOC stocks in soils. The two instruments are part of the RECSOIL initiative – a facility for scaling up SOC-centred SSM practices to prevent further losses and to increase SOC stocks.

Soil as carbon storehouse needed for a greener future

With rising temperatures and unpredictable, extreme weather events, climate change poses a major threat to food security in many parts of the world.

Carbon emissions continue to soar year-on-year warned Ronald Vargas, Secretary of the GSP, making the case for stronger cross-regional alliances.

Soils are where food begins, but around thirty-three percent of soils around the world are degraded – the equivalent land space of about one-third of the earth’s soil.

Rosa Poch, Chair of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) said, “recarbonizing soils globally is within reach.”

“We can progress towards a new agricultural model so that the SOC sequestration potential enables the global distribution of integrated systems for sustainable land management,” she explained.

With more than 95 percent of the world’s food grown from soils, their health impacts the incomes and livelihoods of millions of people.

The GSP is a globally recognized mechanism, established in 2012 to unite countries behind the common goal of protecting soils through good governance.

What is carbon sequestration and why does it matter?

Carbon sequestration involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the form of SOC, with the capture of CO2 in the soil seen as an effective way of reducing greenhouse gases.

Soils rich in carbon are more fertile, benefitting farmers while helping meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.

“Amid collective calls from global citizens to decarbonize the economy, we set out to recarbonize our agricultural soils,” said Vargas: “that’s where RECSOIL comes into the picture, to lock carbon into our soils and in turn combat desertification and land degradation.”

The Assembly acknowledged the progress made by the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN) since its creation in 2017, and in the consolidation of the Global Soil Information System (GLOSIS) - a data collection mechanism to collate information from national institutions.

The Assembly welcomed the launch of the Global assessment of soil pollution, which continues to consume fertile soils with implications for biodiversity, human health and the entire food chain. It also recognised the key role of the Status of knowledge of soil biodiversity report in raising awareness on the importance of soil biodiversity for the provision of ecosystem services and sustainable development.

Recognition was also given to the investments made into soil spectroscopy to help countries to understand soil conditions, boost agricultural productivity and reverse land degradation.

Hailed as a promising initiative to stem soil degradation, experts at the September meeting said that the “Soil Doctors” programme was a forward-thinking method to promote sustainable soil management on the ground until the world reaches net zero emissions of greenhouse gases.

By involving farmers in discussions on sustainable soil management, the Assembly unanimously agreed, smallholders could be given license to share their knowledge on the best soil practices to become agents of transformative change.