Soil pollution has been internationally recognized as a major threat to soil health and its capacity to provide ecosystems services, including the production of safe and sufficient food. Soil pollution is a chemical degradation process that threatens fertile soils, with implications for global food security and human health. Soil pollution hinders the achievement of many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including achieving no poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2), ensuring healthy lives and well-being (SDG 3), halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss (SDG 15), and making cities safe and resilient (SDG 11).

Tunis, 3-7 February 2025: FAO, in partnership with the Japanese Embassy and the Ministry for Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries in Tunisia, launched the SoilFER project to enhance soil data and information in Tunisia.  With $6 million supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, the project is being implemented in Tunisia and Mozambique to promote sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

A meeting brought together several stakeholders, key actors from Japan, the United States of America, and international institutions at FAO from 20 to 23 January 2025 to define future plans for the SoilFER project implementation. This ambitious initiative stands out as a unique framework aimed at unearthing valuable information from soils to guide policymaking and fertilizer recommendations both at national and field scale in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa. The meeting provided a forum for assessing progress, setting new priorities and strengthening collaboration across countries and regions.

From 24 to 27 February 2025, FAO technical experts carried out a mission to Maputo, Mozambique, to advance the implementation of SoilFER project, a key initiative for improving soil fertility and agricultural productivity. This project financed by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underscores Japan and FAO commitment to supporting sustainable agricultural development in Mozambique. The mission's objectives included assessing Mozambique’s soil data management, laboratories, and fertilizer regulation frameworks while identifying key institutional needs and investment priorities.

The tenth session of the International Network of Soil Information Institutions (INSII) meeting took place from 15 to 17 January 2025, at FAO headquarters in Rome, bringing together 117 participants in person and online to discuss the importance of soil data. Additionally, seven invited talks featured experts discussing topics ranging from how to improve soil information systems and map global soil erosion, to tools like LandPKS for field data collection, and international efforts on soil terminology, monitoring, and policy.