On 15 May, the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP) convened a network session to discuss the potential the Soil Health Resolution offers for transforming food systems as per their objectives. NFP is a consortium of initiatives by Dutch organizations and partners from Low and Middle-Income Countries working towards food and nutrition security and achieving SDG2 by 2030. With soil serving as the very foundation of food systems, scaling soil health is a major part of their remit.

betterSoil for a better world is an organisation dedicated to scaling soil health globally. Chairperson and founder, Azadeh Farajpour, shares critical insight into why this mission is so important. This video was shared as part of the betterSoil intervention at the May 2023 ChangeNOW conference in Paris, France.

“West Africa fertilizer policy decision-makers and experts issued an official Ministerial Declaration on Fertilizer and Soil Health in West Africa at the close of a high-level round table organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with technical and funding support by IFDC’s Feed the Future EnGRAIS project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank, respectively.”

Aisha Hassan and Lukas Paltanavičius are cycling across the world to learn hands-on about practices of regenerative agriculture. In this guest article on the Furrow, they uncover how regenerative agriculture helps to increase biodiversity.

“Women play a critical role in the agricultural sector, comprising 43% of the agricultural labor force globally and making significant contributions to household and national food security. Despite their essential role, they face several challenges that limit their ability to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and adapt to climate change, including access to information and finance.”

Burning of unused crop residue is a common practice among farmers in India, contributing to carbon emissions and air pollution. BAIF and GIZ have partnered to establish a farmer producer organisation to convert this residue into biochar. Farmers sell their waste biomass to the FPO and purchase biochar to apply to their crop fields.

10 MAY 2023: The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) hosted a Breakout Session at the AIM for Climate Summit in Washington, DC, USA. Global leaders from policy, industry, producer organisations, civil society groups, and scientists and researchers came together for the three-day Summit to drive their work on climate-smart agriculture and innovations in food systems.

Health of the Soil (HotS) recently launched the "Love in Soil Again" (LISA) Initiative, a new plan that has been ambitiously designed to restore and facilitate deep-rooted craving, love, loyalty, respect and expertise for the health of our soils.

“As part of the Assessment of State Fertilizer Scenario and Promoting Efficient Nutrient Management (ASPEN) project, the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, Punjab Agricultural University, Feed the Future, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and National Agro Industries, have developed a seed-and-fertilizer drill.”

“Srouy’s hands move deftly amongst the vines, her thumb and forefinger pinching each ripe bean from its stem. By the end of the month, she will have harvested some 60 kilograms of beans for sale to her local farmers’ cooperative. Today, after forty years of farming, Srouy is as much entrepreneur as farmer…”

“One project that has been successful in integrating sustainable solutions for energy and water use in agriculture is the Laikipia Isiolo Samburu Transforming the Environment Through Nexus (LISTEN) project in Kenya. The project, implemented by SNV, AGRA and FCDC with funding from EKN, uses the nexus approach to build the knowledge of smallholder farming communities to adopt climate-smart techniques and practices…”

“64 Agriculture Ministers adopted an ambitious final communiqué at the 15th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference, part of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA). The GFFA 2023 addresses the issue of: “Food Systems Transformation: A Worldwide Response to Multiple Crises”. The Ukranian President Zelenskyy sent an appeal to the Minister of Agriculture.”

During an expert panel at the 2023 Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), the WFP brought together speakers representing research institutions, UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations to discuss solutions for creating crisis-proof and climate-friendly food systems with a focus on sustainable land use and the role of soils.

The CA4SH January Partner Meeting provided updates from across the Coalition, and an opportunity for brainstorming next steps in advanving the global soil health agenda.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) was born from the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) alongside several other thematic coalitions, now connected through the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. Learn more about what the Hub does and how scaling soil health is part of the story.

Soil health living labs are becoming increasingly popular in Europe as a way to promote sustainable farming practices and improve soil health. SOILdarity is currently working to develop a living lab in the Alentejo region of Portugal. A recent workshop brought together stakeholders to discuss actions taken so far, and the value a living lab will bring in this context.

Learn more about the Simpson Foundation; an organisation working on the ground to transform farming practices, scale soil health and improve the livelihoods of rural people in Malawi.

Cycle to Farms is documenting what regenerative agriculture looks like on the ground by cycling across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, speaking with farmers and learning about enabling environments and barriers, alike.

What is regenerative agriculture and how can we scale its adoption? Find out in this article from the World Economic Forum.

Dr Budiman Minasny, of Sydney Institute of Agriculture, University of Sydney, and scientific member of the 4per1000 Scientific and Technical Committee, shares his thoughts following the proceedings and decisions from the recent UNFCCC COP27.