The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has raised the alarm over intensifying soil degradation, cautioning that it poses a serious threat to global food production while effective methods for protecting and restoring soils continue to be overlooked.
This warning is contained in the FAO’s “Status of the World’s Soil Resources 2026” report, which was unveiled at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Ulaanbaatar.
Vanguard reported that according to a statement issued to journalists on Thursday, the FAO explained that the report draws on a decade of research spanning 2015 to 2025, along with input from experts across 75 countries. The findings revealed that more than half of the regional assessments showed low or very low uptake of sustainable soil management practices.
The organisation further disclosed that 58 per cent of assessments indicated a decline in soil conditions since 2015, whereas only around 10 per cent showed signs of improvement.
Speaking on the report, FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, said: “Proven solutions are still not being adopted at the pace and scale required. The priority now is to give countries, farmers and other land users the knowledge, capacity and incentives they need to put those solutions into practice.”
She added: “Soils underpin food security, producing more than 95 percent of the food we eat. They also store and filter water, regulate the climate, support biodiversity and sustain livelihoods.”
Bechdol noted that population growth and agricultural expansion have placed additional strain on soil resources, stating: “Since 2015, the global population has grown by 800 million people, while the harvested area of major crops expanded by 80 million hectares.”
She also pointed to several human-driven factors fuelling the crisis, saying: “Urbanisation, unsustainable agricultural practices, industrial activities, conflicts and pollution can all contribute to land degradation and the decline of soil functions.”
On the specific threats identified in the report, she said: “Soil erosion emerges as the most severe and interconnected threat to soil health. Across the seven regions assessed, 81 percent of assessments judge erosion management to be poor or very poor, while 65 percent report a deteriorating trend since 2015.”
Bechdol, however, noted that there are established methods capable of reversing the trend, stating: “Proven practices, including reduced tillage, integrated nutrient management, crop diversification, cover crops, organic amendments and agroforestry, can mitigate soil threats while sustaining or improving agricultural productivity.”
She stressed that the real task lies in expanding the use of these practices, saying: “The challenge is to scale up their adoption at the required pace.”
She further called for a change in how soils are perceived and managed, noting: “Healthy soils should be recognized as strategic assets and existing knowledge translated into action.”
Bechdol added that the report’s guidance encourages a broader, more coordinated approach to land management, stating: “The Guidance promotes a shift from isolated restoration interventions towards integrated management of productive landscapes, prioritizing the avoidance of degradation wherever possible, reducing ongoing pressures, and restoring land and soils where degradation has already occurred.”
