Some 70% of Europe's soils are considered to be degraded, posing a direct threat to food security and the health of ecosystems. Degraded soils mean high costs to the EU economy; currently more than EUR 50 billion every year. Factors such as these contribute to the rationale behind proposals for an EU Soil Health Law, included in the EU’s new Soil Strategy published last month.
This new Soil Strategy is tasked to have all European soils restored, resilient, and adequately protected by 2050. Agriculture will play a decisive role and farmers will be aided by risk assessment methodologies implementing the Fertilising Products Regulation. The feasibility of introducing a soil health certificate for land transactions will also be examined as part of the new Strategy. In addition, a “test your soil for free” initiative is proposed, allowing farmers and other actors to know more about the health of their soil.
See the Soil Strategy’s official text to discover these latest soil developments including how farmers will be rewarded for storing carbon and delivering ecosystem services.
