Climate change and reckless land exploitation are weakening the earth's fertility. Fertile soil, considered the foundation of both life and food, is rapidly dwindling Climate change and indiscriminate land exploitation are weakening the earth's fertility. Fertile soil, considered the foundation of both life and food, is rapidly depleting. The recent report, "The State of Food and Agriculture 2025," by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), warns that approximately 1.7 billion people live in areas where the soil's fertile layer is depleting. It is noteworthy that India accounts for approximately 29 percent of the world's available arable land, and China for approximately 26 percent. Due to anthropogenic land degradation, crop yields have declined by up to 10 percent in many parts of the world. According to the World Atlas of Desertification, 75 percent of fertile soil has already been eroded. If soil erosion continues at this pace, the face of the Earth's greenery could change by 2050.
Highlights
Decreasing soil productivity is a cause for concern.
Food crisis and threat of malnutrition
<p>Need to increase productivity</p>
New Delhi, Vivek Tiwari. Climate change and indiscriminate land exploitation are weakening the earth's fertility. Fertile soil, considered the foundation of both life and food, is rapidly depleting. The recent report, "The State of Food and Agriculture 2025," by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), warns that approximately 1.7 billion people live in areas where fertile soil is depleting. It's worth noting that India accounts for approximately 29 percent of the world's arable land, and China for approximately 26 percent. Due to anthropogenic land degradation, crop yields have declined by up to 10 percent in many parts of the world. According to the World Atlas of Desertification, 75 percent of fertile soil has already been eroded. If soil erosion continues at this pace, the face of the Earth's greenery could change by 2050. A 2024 study by IIT Delhi on soil erosion in India revealed that approximately 30 percent of the country's land area is experiencing declining soil fertility, while 3 percent has reached catastrophic levels. Scientists believe this is a major crisis not only for the environment but also for food security for future generations.
According to the report, approximately 47 million children under the age of five are suffering from stunting due to reduced food production and malnutrition. Globally, Asian countries are the most affected by this problem. This report, released by the FAO, claims that preventing the degradation of existing cultivable land due to human activities can avert food shortages. Land degradation is not caused by a single factor, but by multiple factors. These include natural factors, such as soil erosion and salinization, and anthropogenic pressures, which are becoming increasingly prevalent. Deforestation, unbalanced cropping and irrigation practices are among the major causes. However, this report focuses primarily on soil erosion caused by human activities.
Preventing the degradation of the 10 percent of fertile land that is currently being degraded will solve many problems. By adopting sustainable land management practices like crop rotation and cover cropping to restore this land, reduce erosion, and increase biodiversity, enough food could be produced to feed an additional 154 million people each year. According to the report, there are approximately 571 million farms worldwide. Farms of all sizes are crucial to ensuring food security. However, medium and large farms produce 26 percent and 58 percent of the global kilocalories provided by crops, respectively. They play a vital role in global trade and supply chains. On the other hand, small farmers, while producing only 16 percent of the global output, are crucial in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where they contribute approximately 60 percent.
India and China account for more than half of all cultivated land. Furthermore, if other countries in East and Southeast Asia are included, these countries account for approximately 10 percent of the total cultivated land. Consequently, Asia plays a crucial role in meeting the world's food needs.
A teaspoon of soil contains enough bacteria or organisms to outnumber the number of people living on Earth. Dr. Debashish Mandal, head of the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at Pusa University, says that 99 percent of all food on Earth comes from soil. Only one percent comes from aquatic life. For decades, we have exploited nutrients from the soil to ensure our food security. This balance has been disrupted. Events like stubble burning also impact soil biodiversity. A large number of bacteria and insects die, thus affecting soil fertility. Farmers need to understand this. To maintain soil life, we must increase the use of organic fertilizers. Furthermore, we must have the soil tested periodically to replenish any nutrient deficiencies, only then will we be able to achieve better production.
Over the past decade, rainfall patterns have changed due to climate change. Sudden and intense rains are damaging the fertile soil layer. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has conducted simulation model studies to assess the impact of climate change on soil testing, rainfall patterns, forecasting, and crop yields. The study revealed that rainfall is projected to increase in the range of 4.9-10.1% and 5.5-18.9% by 2050 and 2080, respectively. During the same period, the Rabi season is projected to increase from 12-17% to 13-26%. This increase in rainfall will result in a loss of 10 tons of fertile soil per hectare of fertile land every year by 2050. Due to climate change, barren land is projected to increase from 6.7 million hectares to 11 million hectares by 2030.
The expansion of agriculture over the centuries has fundamentally changed land-use patterns across the planet. According to an FAO report, in the twenty-first century, between 2001 and 2023, global agricultural area will decline by 78 million hectares (about two percent). Permanent grasslands and pastures will also decline by approximately 151 million hectares. Approximately 72 million hectares of forest were cleared in search of new fertile land for cultivation. Significantly, approximately 3.6 million hectares of land are abandoned each year due to declining soil fertility.
According to the Government of India's "Wasteland Atlas" (2019), the country has a total of 55.76 million hectares of wasteland, representing 16.96% of the total geographical area. According to information provided by the government in Parliament, the government is preparing in various ways to address the anticipated adverse impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector. Climate-resilient agricultural technologies are being developed for vulnerable districts and regions with adverse weather conditions. This includes local-specific soil nutrient management. Efforts are also being made to enhance supplementary irrigation, micro-irrigation, improved drainage, and soil improvement. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has also assessed the risk and vulnerability of agriculture in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change protocol. A total of 109 districts have been identified as highly vulnerable and 201 as highly vulnerable. Adaptive measures are being implemented through Krishi Vigyan Kendras in a total of 151 districts. District Agriculture Contingency Plans have also been developed for a total of 651 districts to cope with erratic weather conditions.
There is a severe shortage of organic carbon in the soil in India. Dr. A.K. Singh, Vice Chancellor of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, says that the amount of organic carbon in the soil should not be less than one percent. However, in most of the land in the country where crops are produced in large quantities, the amount is 0.5 percent or less. Organic carbon is extremely important for the soil. If it becomes deficient in the soil, even the chemical fertilizers used by farmers will stop working. This will adversely affect the crops. Having organic carbon in the soil is essential for a good harvest. To increase the amount of organic carbon in the soil, farmers should use cow dung manure, drench, etc. Farmers should never leave the fields fallow. Leaving the fields fallow also causes loss of organic carbon.
Climate change, increasing heat, and untimely rainfall are continuously depleting the fertile topsoil. Dr. Shailendra Kumar, Deputy Director of the Global Research Program at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Aroid Tropics, says that the number of areas in the country where there is insufficient water for farming has rapidly increased. In such areas, the lack of organic carbon in the soil is becoming a major problem. In such circumstances, millets can play an important role in meeting food needs. Millet plants have strong roots, preventing them from falling even during heavy rains. Due to their deep roots, they survive longer during droughts than traditional crops. Millet plants can also tolerate intense heat. Millets are also rich in nutrients, making them a better option for providing better nutrition to the general public.
30% of India's land area is eroding fertile soil.
According to a 2024 study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 30% of India's land area is experiencing fertile soil erosion, while 3% is experiencing catastrophic soil loss. This means that India loses more than 20 tons of fertile soil per hectare per year. More than 1,500 square kilometers of fertile land has been lost so far. Soil erosion is occurring most rapidly in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam and Odisha. According to the report, the Shivalik and adjoining Himalayan regions are also severely affected by soil loss. Due to indiscriminate use of chemicals in agriculture and industrial activities, soil in India is rapidly becoming acidic. According to the study published in the journal Science, soil acidification in India could lead to the loss of 3.3 billion tons of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) from the top 0.3 meters of soil over the next 30 years. A study by scientists at the Chinese Institute of Soils suggests that India and China are likely to experience the greatest loss of soil carbon in the future. Soil acidity is also increasing in these countries due to nitrogen content.
India has a rich mineral soil, rich in potassium. However, due to agriculture, industrialization, and other factors, potassium is becoming scarce. Today, our farmers apply abundant nitrogen as a nutrient to the soil, as nitrogen deficiency can cause symptoms or diseases in plants. However, there are many nutrients whose deficiencies cannot be detected by observing the plant. Farmers primarily apply nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as fertilizers to their fields. However, there are many micronutrients, such as boron, cobalt, and nickel, without which plants cannot fully benefit from these fertilizers. For example, if the soil is low in nickel, many fertilizers will not work effectively. Only 3% of the nutrients or organic matter we apply to the soil are absorbed into the soil. The rest is lost through water, air, or other means. In such a situation, we need to apply a balanced amount of nutrients to the soil, which varies widely across different parts of the country. We can determine which nutrient is deficient in the soil through soil testing. Dr. AK Biswas, Principal Scientist and Head of the Department of Soil Chemistry and Fertility at the Indian Institute of Soil Science, says that a total of 17 nutrients are needed for plant growth. Fourteen of these come from the soil, while the rest come from water, sunlight, and air. In addition to these 14 nutrients, plants also need a variety of micronutrients.
