Soil Health for Food and Nutritional security enhancement
Introduction
Soil is a non-renewable resource, meaning its loss and degradation is not recoverable within a
human lifespan. Soil being the core component of land resources, ecological sustainability, is
the basis for food, fuel and fibre production and for many other ecosystem services which are
critical. It is one of the most important and precious natural resource that sustains life on the
earth. One of the most important function of soil is its support for food production. In fact, it is
estimated that 95% of our food is directly or indirectly produced on the soils. The essential
nutrients, oxygen, water, and the root support that our food-producing plants need to grow are
all provided by healthy soils. The delicate plants are protected from the drastic fluctuations in
the climate by soils.
The basis of healthy food production system is healthy soils. The health of soil can be defined
as the its capacity to function as a living system. Healthy soils maintain a diverse community
of soil organisms that help to control plant disease, insect and weed pests, form beneficial
symbiotic associations with plant roots, recycle essential plant nutrients, improve soil structure
with positive effects for soil water and nutrient holding capacity, and ultimately improve crop
production. If the health of soil is maintained, then it can also contribute to mitigating climate
change by maintaining its carbon content.
