Soils. Food begins here

On 5 December 2022, FAO marked World Soil Day with the release of its first “Global Status of Black Soils” report. This kind of soil is at greater risk than ever due to negative climate change, biodiversity loss and changing land use practices. 

Over 95% of our food comes from soils. Soil Day celebrations focused on the theme of the year “Soils: Where Food Begins”, their role in food security, and the loss of fertility that leads to low yields and crop failures, which in turn provokes such phenomena as hunger, malnutrition and poverty of the local population. 

The FAO “Global Status of Black Soils” report and the “Soils Atlas of Asia” flyer were introduced to the participants of the Soil Day event, which were held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome. During the event, Viktor Vasiliev, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to FAO and other international organizations in Rome, conferred the Glinka World Soil Prize to Dr Ashok Kumar Patra, a distinguished scientist from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS) in Bhopal. 

This annual award, sponsored by the Russian Federation, recognizes the best world’s soil scientists and contributes to timely rising awareness of possible solutions of acute national and local issues of soil degradation among policymakers and the general public, and encourages all interested soil scientists and practitioners to engage in field work, directly contribute to environmental conservation, food security and poverty eradication.  

The 2022 IUSS Distinguished Service Medal has been conferred to the Global Soil Partnership in recognition of its contribution to soil science since its establishment 10 years ago. 

According to FAO experts, about 33% of the world’s soils are subject to degradation, and this trend is accelerating. In the past few decades, the state of soil fertility has deteriorated due to unsustainable soil management practices, resulting in a sharp decline in dietary vitamins and nutrients. One of the main causes of soil degradation is an imbalance of nutrients in the soil. 

Over the past 70 years, the vitamin and nutrient saturation of food has dropped dramatically. Hidden hunger (also called micronutrient deficiency) is due to nutrient-poor diets and is largely due to soil depletion.

More than two-thirds of the world’s population is deficient in one or more essential minerals. 

With sustainable soil management, 58% more food can be produced. Sustainable soil management continues to be the most cost-effective solution to increase soil nutrient content and crop yields. 

Soils, like people, need a balanced and varied supply of nutrients in appropriate amounts to be healthy. Therefore, measures must be taken to prevent and correct nutrient imbalances in agrifood systems. 

FAO proposes six measures to prevent and correct nutrient disbalances: 1) Rational use of fertilizers; 2) Strengthening technical support to farmers; 3) Emphasis on crop diversity and legumes; 4) Adequate use of microelements; 5) Measurement and mapping of soil nutrient content; 6) Taking long-term measures for the sustainable management of soil resources. 

#Soils4Nutrition