Soil could contain answer to food shortages
As water shortages, high temperatures and rising greenhouse gas emissions threaten food production, countries around the world are looking somewhere new for solutions 鈥 the soil.
For decades, farmers wanting to boost their yields have focused their attention on fertilizers, technology and new seed varieties.
Instead, they should be looking under their feet, according to experts, who warn that years of erosion and degradation of the soil through intensive farming have created the conditions for a global food production crisis.
鈥淒ata suggests that if we do not restore global soil health, it is highly likely the consequences within 10 years will be many, many millions facing food and water insecurity,鈥 British soil expert John Crawford said.
This could lead to 鈥渃ivil unrest, mass migration, radicalization and violence on an unprecedented scale,鈥 said Crawford, until recently a science director at the world鈥檚 oldest agricultural research institute, Rothamsted Research.
Much of the problem is caused by erosion, which strips away the highly fertile top layer of soil.
An area of soil the size of a soccer pitch is eroded every five seconds, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
While soil erosion occurs naturally, human activities such as intensive agriculture, deforestation and urban sprawl have significantly increased the rate at which it is happening.
Nearly a third of Earth鈥檚 soil is already degraded. At current rates, that will increase to 90 percent by 2050, the FAO forecasts, warning that pollution from human activity such as mining and manufacturing as well as erosion are to blame.
There are signs the world is beginning to wake up to the issue, which Crawford said it had only about 10 to 15 years to sort out.
Soil is 鈥渙ne of the most important regulators of the global climate鈥 because it stores more carbon than the planet鈥檚 atmosphere and vegetation combined, he said.
鈥淚f you fix soil, you mitigate a whole bunch of other risks,鈥 said Crawford, now professor of technology and strategy at the Adam Smith Business School in Glasgow.
Whole Foods, the upscale US retailer that made its name selling organic food, has put 鈥渞egenerative agriculture鈥 鈥 farming that focuses on soil health 鈥 at the top of its trends for 2020.
From Iowa to the Ayeyarwady Delta Region of Myanmar 鈥 known as the country鈥檚 rice bowl 鈥 farmers are trying to figure out how to make their soil healthier and more productive.
In a remote village in the Ayeyarwady Delta recently, a group of farmers sat cross-legged on a wooden floor and discussed why their once-thriving farms had become less productive.
The men had started testing their soil for the first time with the help of Proximity Designs, a business that designs low-cost farming products.
The company only began offering low-cost soil testing services in Myanmar in 2018 and by last October it had already sold more than 7,600 tests at US$17 each, highlighting farmer interest.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have anyone to teach us (about soil). We followed suggestions from others, thinking they might work,鈥 said Win Zaw, 44, who grows rice twice a year on his 2.4-hectare farm.
鈥淲e knew something was wrong, but didn鈥檛 know what to do,鈥 he said, looking down at neatly typed sheets of paper detailing the levels of nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, acidity and organic matter in the soil.
All the farms were showing very low organic matter, which is produced by decomposing plants and is key to good soil health.
Proximity Designs鈥 agronomists said this was likely due partly to the warm climate, which degrades organic matter more quickly, and partly to local farming practices.
Their recommendations were relatively simple: Leave crop residues after the harvest to retain the moisture in the soil, or sow cover crops 鈥 those planted to protect the soil between rice plantings rather than for commercial reasons.
When it came to fertiliser use, the recommended amount was much lower than what the farmers were using.
鈥淎pplying farming practices without knowing what鈥檚 happening in the soil can lead to crop failures, soil degradation, environmental damage and ecosystem breakdown,鈥 said Proximity founder Debbie Aung Din.
In Iowa, a state in the US Midwest known for its cornfields, farmers are increasingly seeking to improve soil health, said Richard Cruse, a professor at Iowa State University鈥檚 agronomy department.
鈥淲e see increasing numbers of cover crops that are being planted. We鈥檙e increasing the rate of no-till adoption,鈥 he said, referring to a method of farming without tilling the soil that is said to reduce erosion. 鈥淚鈥檝e talked to several (farmers) in my area who are saying, 鈥榃e have to do something different.鈥欌
But many lack the expertise and skills, while farmers who rent say it is not worth investing in land that they do not own.
鈥淚n Iowa, more than half of the farmland is managed by farmers that don鈥檛 own the land,鈥 said Cruse. 鈥淚鈥檝e had multiple farmers tell me, 鈥榗onservation practices on land that I rent is a cost.鈥欌
Ronald Vargas, land and water officer for the FAO and secretary of the Global Soils Partnership 鈥 a key player in pushing this issue 鈥 said farmers had to be given advice and incentives. 鈥淪oil can be your ally or your enemy,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut in many countries, farmers are left alone. There is nobody advising them.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔$粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.