Soil Depletion Threatens Food Security Amid Surging Population and Climate Change

As the world gears up to celebrate the December 5th World Soil Day, experts are raising the alarm over the alarming rate of soil depletion. The pressure on the soil, exacerbated by climate change and human activity, has led to its degradation, posing a significant threat to food security in the face of a surging global population. A joint document by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Soil Science Society of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) highlights the urgent need for sustainable soil management practices.

Key Takeaways:

• The document emphasizes the importance of sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, organic matter addition, and cover cropping, in improving soil health, reducing erosion and pollution, and enhancing water infiltration and storage.
• Soil degradation is a major concern, with over 33% of agricultural land being degraded due to erosion, loss of organic carbon and biodiversity, salinization, acidification, compaction, and nutrient imbalance.
• Soil provides essential ecosystem services, including food production, which is fundamental for food security and sovereignty, water regulation and supply, climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and cultural services.
• Soils are the basis for producing more than 95% of the world's food, according to FAOSTAT (FAO, 2022).
• Healthy soils are essential for our survival, supporting healthy plant growth, enhancing nutrition and water percolation, regulating the planet's climate by storing carbon, and maintaining a resilient landscape resistant to droughts and floods.
• Agriculture must return to its roots by rediscovering the importance of healthy soil, drawing on natural sources of plant nutrition, and using mineral fertilizers wisely.
• Strategies aimed at achieving food security should be based on soil health, which is both a prerequisite and the ultimate goal.

Statistics:

• 95% of the world's food is produced on soils (FAO, 2022).
• Over 33% of agricultural land is degraded due to erosion, loss of organic carbon and biodiversity, salinization, acidification, compaction, and nutrient imbalance (FAO and ITPS, 2015).

Sources:

• United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Soil Science Society of Nigeria
• Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS)
• FAOSTAT (FAO, 2022)
• FAO and ITPS (2015)