Soils are the basis for our food, a habitat for countless organisms and a prerequisite for biodiversity. As a carbon sink, they also play an important role in the global climate. These vital global functions necessitate soil protection that transcends…
Everyone is agreed that one of the central components of achieving an ‘African Green Revolution’ is to tackle the widespread soil fertility constraints in African agriculture. To this end, AGRA – the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa –…
Debates on soils and their management have too often been unnecessarily polarised between promoters of ‘organic’, ‘sustainable’ or ‘agroecological’ agriculture and those who argue that only large supplies of mineral fertiliser are the answer. These are often pitched in ideological…
In Malawi, worry creases farmers’ faces as they explain that their maize crop may fail this year. Planting was done on time, but in January intense rainfall and flooding swept away much of the fields, soil and seeds alike. Our…
2 March 2015
2015 is going to be a pivotal year for sustainable development: a global climate agreement is due to be negotiated in Paris in December; under Germany’s presidency, the G7 Summit in June will address sustainable economic growth; and the 193…
Natural resources are coming under increasing pressure in the face of climate change and growing global demand for raw materials.
The protection of land and soils will contribute to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is therefore necessary to develop an appropriate monitoring and accountability framework to track the state of these resources. Finding appropriate indicators is…
First in series of guest Blogs from Ian Scoones You may not know, but 2015 is the International Year of Soils. Soils are of course vitally important for agriculture and livelihoods, but they often go unsung and are routinely uncared…