World Soil Day, 5 December

Farmer's voice 

This year, in the framework of the upcoming World Soil Day, 5 December 2022, under the motto "Soils, where food begins", FAO’s Global Soil Partnership (GSP) would like to use the opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic work being done by the main soil custodians: FARMERS! And, what better way to do that than through the Global Soil Doctors programme?

In this way, promoters of the programme and farmers will have the possibility to become a central figure in this year's World Soil Day campaign!

Objectives

The objective of the call for Farmer’s Voice is to: 

  • put sustainable soil management (SSM) on the agenda through real-world examples (using people and faces makes the message more powerful and relatable);
  • share stories that might inspire other people and organizations to implement SSM;
  • highlight GSP´s connection to in-field activities through the Global Soil Doctors programme;
  • showcase the fantastic commitment of the promoters of the Global Soil Doctors programme and farmers to ensure soil health around the world. 

Let's join forces to showcase the outstanding commitment to soil health of you all, promoters of the Global Soil Doctors programme and farmers!

Reaching out farmers through the Global Soil Doctors programme

As part of the Global Soil Doctors programme (GSDP), an initiative led by FAO’s GSP, farmers in a number of regions will be contacted to collect their testimonies on how they protect soils and enhance soil health and fertility around the world. The programme supports farmers in implementing sustainable soil management (SSM) principles, providing them with targeted training on how to preserve and restore good soil conditions and functions, and contributes to raising awareness on soils globally. Since 2021, the programme has been extensively expanding in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia with projects currently running in Mexico, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Burkina Faso. 

Farmers will be contacted through the national promoters of the Soil Doctors programme. Promoters are national institutions (e.g., government agency, extension service, soil science society, local/regional association, NGO, the private sector or academia) that are actively working on SSM and that act as a link between FAO’s GSP, the programme and the farmers. The stories, collected through the survey and thanks to the support of the promoter, will reflect perceived good practices and soil threats in different parts of the world. 

How to take part

FAO's GSP will provide a template with simple questions for promoters to share with farmers. Promoters will forward the form to the farmers and assist them in responding, if needed. The form contains questions for the farmers about soil management and can be answered on most phones or computers. The responses, collected through the online Google form, will be compiled into a web page and/or short video with photographs showing the farmer(s) and their work. This could also be a great opportunity to discuss further soil threats! 

The responses will be compiled on a web page or in a short video with photographs showing the farmers and their work, and published on the GSP website and shared on social media. In addition, the most interesting replies could be transformed into articles to be posted on our platforms. We will, of course, be sure to highlight the role of programme promoters whenever showcasing farmers! 

These short profiles will put sustainable soil management (SSM) on the agenda through real-world examples that might inspire other people and organizations to implement SSM. To make this message as powerful as possible, it is essential that the farmers also provide a high-definition portrait picture of themselves and their farm in their submission. Deadline is November 20th 2022.

Don’t hesitate to share your entries on social media, such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or Twitter using the hashtags #WorldSoilDay #Soils4Nutrition. Any questions, please write to us at: [email protected].