Land, Soil, and Water form the Foundation of the Global Food Systems…. Yet, They Are at Risk!

Recent assessments, projections, and scenarios from the international community show the continued and increasing depletion of soil, land, and water resources, loss of biodiversity, associated degradation and pollution, and scarcity in the primary natural resources. The growing demand for food is placing pressure on land, soil, and water resources which are being pushed to their productive limits.

It is clear that our future food security will depend on safeguarding these resources and requires looking for innovative actions and solutions to redirect the focus onto the land, on which over 95 percent of the world’s food is produced.

To do this, information on the status of land, soil, and water resources, and evidence of the changing and alarming trends in their use are needed, and SOLAW 2021 is the answer!

SOLAW 2021 - Synthesis report highlights the major risks and trends related to soil, land, and water and provides solutions away from the business-as-usual approach, injecting a sense of urgency in making the necessary transformation to safeguard our soil, land, and water. It also underlines the essential contribution of appropriate and targeted policies, institutions, and investments. 

The state

The interconnected systems of land, soil, and water are stretched to the limit. Convergence of evidence points to agricultural systems breaking down, with impacts felt across the global food system.
Current patterns of agricultural intensification are not sustainable. Pressures on land and water resources have built to the point where productivity of key agricultural systems is compromised and livelihoods are threatened.
Farming systems are becoming polarized. Large commercial holdings now dominate agricultural land use, while fragmentation of smallholders concentrates subsistence farming on lands susceptible to degradation and water scarcity.

The challenges

Future agricultural production will depend upon managing the risks to land and water. Land, soil, and water management need to find better synergy to keep systems in play. This is essential to maintain the required rates of agricultural growth without further compromising the generation of environmental services.

Land and water resources will need safeguarding. There is now only a narrow margin for reversing trends in resource deterioration and depletion, but the complexity and scale of the task should not be underestimated.

Responses and actions

Land and water governance has to be more inclusive and adaptive. Inclusive governance is essential for allocating and managing natural resources. Technical solutions to mitigate land degradation and water scarcity are unlikely to succeed without it.

Integrated solutions need to be planned at all levels if they are to be taken to scale. Planning can indeed define critical thresholds in natural resource systems, leading to the reversal of land degradation when wrapped up as packages or programmes of technical, institutional, governance, and financial support.

Technical and managerial innovation can be targeted to address priorities and accelerate transformation. Caring for neglected soils, addressing drought, and coping with water scarcity can be addressed through the adoption of new technologies and management approaches.

Agricultural support and investment can be redirected towards social and environmental gains derived from land and water management. There is now scope for progressive multi-phased financing of agricultural projects that can be linked with redirected subsidies to keep land and water systems in play.

There is no “one size fits all” solution. A “full package” of workable solutions is now available to enhance food production and tackle the main threats from land degradation, increasing water scarcity, and declining water quality. But these will succeed only when there is a conducive enabling environment, strong political will, inclusive governance, and full participatory planning processes across all sectors and landscapes.

Over 95% of our food is produced on land and begins with soil and water. Let’s manage these resources wisely to safeguard our future.

_{“The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent FAO’s views, positions, strategies or opinions.”}