Everything is nothing without Soils

If they had a human voice, it would be a single, piercing scream. “But they do speak to us,” says a woman in a dark grey hall. “We’re just not listening.” Junnie R. Wangari is barely audible herself, here in the hall in Berlin, where the chairperson of Kenya’s organic fertilizer association Ofiak has gathered with around 150 experts to take stock: What is the current state of soils worldwide? What impact have previous protection measures had – and what needs to be done moving forward? These are the questions being tackled over three days at the international conference “Partners for Change – SOILutions for a Food Secure, Resilient, and Sustainable Future” in Berlin. At its heart: the role of soil in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Participants include representatives from governments, international organizations, think tanks, science, civil society, and the private sector. The conference was initiated by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in collaboration with the European Commission and the Gates Foundation.

“We are here to find ideas,” says a moderator on stage, “to put knowledge into practice.” The twelve dozen participants swiftly divide into working groups and begin deliberations.
Action is needed. The world’s population is growing and so is hunger. At the same time, soils are producing less and less for agricultural harvests. A lose-lose situation.
Soil degradation alone – the deterioration of soil quality – has affected more than 1.2 billion hectares globally since 1945. That’s an area the size of China and India combined. Climate change and the extreme weather events it brings along with intensive agricultural practices, are taking a toll on the soil. Yet, soils are more critical than ever. From the outset, Niels Annen set the tone for the SOILutions conference: “Soil protection is a strategic lever for achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals,” said the BMZ State Secretary.

“You can’t end hunger on degraded land”, says State Secretary Niels Annen.

Moreover, healthy soils store carbon and play a key role in adapting to climate shocks. It’s time, he said, for a turnaround – toward a win-win situation.

In the small groups, the delegates from all continents now have 15 minutes to identify enabling factors. In Group 1, representatives of civil society have gathered. “We’re always involved in decision-making processes these days, but not properly,” says one of them. “We need genuine participation, not just a consulting role,” adds another. “And what if the political structures in a country aren’t democratic?” a third asks. “Then we should start at the local level.” The carpet, dark grey like the walls, is adorned with bright lines, intertwined like a confusing network of paths.

Elisabeth Nsimadala shares a personal view on soil. “The Bible says man was created from earth,” says the farmer and president of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation. “We live on it, and after death, we return to it.” Just ten years ago, she could simply scatter beans on her field, “and I’d harvest – without using any fertilizer. That’s over.” The soils have degraded due to agricultural practices, mostly monocultures. “The impacts of climate change have only made an already bad situation worse.” At home, she now relies on animal manure, mulching, crop rotation, cover crops, intercropping with legumes, and agroforestry. “All of this points in the right direction. But it’s labor-intensive. That’s why we need new strategies that reduce this effort through effective innovations and technologies.”

On stage, the small groups now present the results of their fifteen-minute brainstorming session. “The political will for transformation must be driven by the people,” summarizes one woman. In the back left, a man nods behind his tablet, which rests on a stand. Professor Amos Kabo-Bah stands at the intersection of environmental crisis and hope. As a member of the Program Board of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) – an intergovernmental organization that improves the availability and use of Earth observation data – and as a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, Ghana, he is a witness to both the beauty and the devastation of a changing planet.

“At first glance, everything looks peacefully blue,” he says. “But the second glance becomes increasingly alarming.” From above, a disturbing reality emerges: vast areas of destroyed forests, landscapes disfigured by intensive mining. “Just for mobile phones and electric cars, so much earth is needed that the rapid extraction leaves glaring scars on our environment.” This stark reality drives his work as co-chair of the GEO flagship initiative Land Degradation Neutrality (GEO LDN). “We are building vital capacities to develop a new understanding of how to manage every single pixel of our land,” he says, “because our real challenge is as simple as it is complex: how can we grow food and sustain industrial development while also preserving the environment that nourishes us all?”

The answer, he says, lies beneath our feet. “Soil health is the lifeblood of our development and therefore an urgent responsibility we all must face. We must conserve our soils, protect our land, and secure our shared future for our children. After all, healthy soils and landscapes are the best insurance policy for a healthy population.”

For deforestation and environmental destruction, just like illegal parking, there must be a price to pay. But he also sees a path forward through demonstration farms where agroecological methods are practiced and knowledge is passed on in hands-on ways. “At GEO, we’re working to make this knowledge available in a standardized format,” he says. The challenge is enormous: data sources on agricultural production and the impact on soils vary widely across different world regions. “We are developing methods that can be applied universally – everywhere and for everyone.” This work, he says, goes beyond technological progress. “It represents our commitment to making sustainable soil management a reality for every community, every nation, and every future generation.” Because ultimately, protecting our soils means protecting ourselves.

In the late afternoon, a woman grabs a handful of nuts before hurrying off to the next panel. “Soil is like a mother,” says Janet Maro, “it feeds us all.” Maro co-founded the organization Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), and she is actively involved in training farmers.

“Just take a look at a handful of soil: it contains more micro- and macroorganisms than there are people on this planet – all those bacteria and fungi.”

For Maro, these are the foundation of nutrients, and much can be done. “Here’s an example: in the Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania, farmers from a village had abandoned their fields because they no longer yielded any harvest – they moved higher up and cut down forests.” For her, that was not a sustainable solution, so Maro and a few colleagues examined the abandoned fields, composted them, and loosened the soil. “In the first year, we planted Crotalaria. In fact, the legume barely grew 30 centimeters tall.” For the second season, they changed the crop rotation, “and not long after, the Crotalaria reached up to my head.” The farmers returned from the mountain forests; a solution that, according to the agricultural scientist, is applicable and scalable anywhere. “This has to be driven by policy,” she says about the training programs. “It makes no sense to rely on chemical fertilizers that harm the soil and cost unnecessary money.” Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when disrupted trade routes made access to synthetic fertilizers difficult, the value of “true organic fertilizer, which everyone can have,” became evident.

This issue is also well known to Junnie R. Wangari, the chair of Kenya’s Organic Fertilizer Manufacturers Association. “First, the farmers knew, then the scientists, and now, really, even the politicians know that the soil must be nurtured organically instead of being exploited chemically,” she says. “We need to get politics to act to save humanity.” Wangari sees further opportunities in better water management, optimized storage systems, climate-resilient crops – and a reduction in the use of chemically-based pesticides. “Officially, only the leaves are sprayed,” she says, “but rain carries the substances into the soil, where they kill organisms.” She is critical of subsidies for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. “In the short term, they secure a harvest. In the long term, they destroy the foundation of all cultivation.” Wangari also sees potential for transformation especially among smallholder farmers. “For one, because there are so many of them: in Kenya, up to 80 percent of our food is produced by them. And secondly, they are more flexible. If we convince them to introduce crop rotation, they react more quickly than large-scale farms. Those are more skeptical about diversification due to their mechanization.”

Next to him sits Dhanush Dinesh. The Chief Climate Catalyst of the organization Clim Eat adds, “Fertilizer accounts for around two percent of global emissions.” He doesn’t want to outright condemn chemically based fertilizers, “I hear from some African countries that they need them. But everyone agrees that their use should and could be reduced worldwide.”

Dinesh sees untapped potential in old traditions of agricultural practice. “These are regionally refined and have proven successful over many generations. Why should we abandon this treasure?”

He sees a viable path especially in the combination of indigenous knowledge and modern technology. “Traditional methods alone may not feed the global population, but they support soil health. That could be incentivized financially.”

The room slowly begins to empty. In the corner, a man briefly checks the news on his smartphone. “Agriculture is not only about taking, but also about giving—so that we can take again,” says Oliver Oliveros. “Soils are fundamental to the interdependencies of our ecological balance.” Once thrown off, production would also decline. And really, it’s already five minutes to midnight for the necessary transformation. “We have to double our speed and redirect investments.” The Executive Coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition advocates for a holistic view of the sociocultural context of agriculture: “It’s not just about technological solutions, but about ensuring they are embraced and carried by the entire community. Only then can they take root.” In the end, it’s simple: “Humans are part of nature. We don’t float above it.” The ceiling light in this dark hall glows golden yellow.

The conference is part of the Partners for Change (P4C) network. The P4C network brings together global agendas with concrete practical experience of transformation. It offers BMZ cooperation partners from Germany and partner countries a platform for dialogue and the joint design of change processes.