The newly-announced list, published by the World Food Prize Foundation, features 38 changemakers working to improve global food systems.

Among the distinguised cohort is CA4SH Lead and Co-Founder, Dr Leigh Ann Winowiecki! Congratulations, Leigh!

Soil health is a fundamental component of agricultural sustainability and environmental stewardship. In this article, CA4SH partner Samuel Bamidele explores how enhancing soil health can bolster resilience against the adverse effects of climate change and outlines related legislation from the United States.

Samuel holds a Master of Science from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware. Hailing from Ibadan, Nigeria, Samuel's academic trajectory has been characterized by a profound dedication to soil science and agriculture.

Healthy soil is the cornerstone of sustainable development, playing a crucial role in providing ecosystem services, achieving food and nutrition security for all, and climate regulation. Its significance can be underscored through the lens of the three Rio Conventions: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Each convention addresses a distinct but interconnected aspect of environmental sustainability, but what remains constant is the critical role that scaling global soil health plays in achieving the objectives of the conventions.

To hone in on soil as a holistic approach to global environmental challenges, we have summarized some of the ways that healthy soil is central to the objectives of the Rio Conventions and outlined some of the key ways forward.

June 3 to 13, 2024 - The 60th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiaries Bodies (SB60) took place in Bonn, Germany. Also called the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference, it brought together an estimated 6,000 attendees to prepare and shape the agenda for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. This year, we contributed to several side events led by partners to elevate the importance of soil health.

This is the first in our series of interviews with the LUNZ Soil Health and Carbon Dynamics TAG community, in which we explore the key themes we’ll be working on over the next 40 months.

In this instalment, TAG co-leads Ellen Fay (Sustainable Soils Alliance) and Professor Pete Smith (University of Aberdeen) dig into some of the challenges around soil carbon, including how it relates to soil health, how it is measured, where its greatest opportunities lie and its role in land use change and net zero.

The full interview can be viewed on the LUNZ YouTube channel here, or read on for a summary of the key takeaways.

At the recent IUSS Centennial Celebration and Congress held in Florence, Italy, on May 19-21, the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) hosted a fireside chat focused on the pivotal role of policy in addressing soil degradation and promoting sustainable land management.

Founded as the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS) on 19th May 1924, the International Union of Soil Scientists (IUSS), with the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS) welcomed more than 1500 scientists from all over the world to Rome, Italy, where the IUSS was founded, to celebrate 100 years of action on soils.

In 2018, a village in Chhattisgarh, India struggled to meet market demands for chillies due to low yields and a short growing period. The villagers turned to Cownomics® Technology from Vaidic Srijan, an approach rooted in traditional Indian Vedic sciences that balances the health of soil, water and air for greater overall cohesion on the farm. Farmers were taken aback by how quickly they saw their crops respond.

Story and photos from Madhukar Swayambhu, Founder & Research Head, Vaidic Srijan LLP, a member of CA4SH from Bharat (India)

CA4SH’s Webinar Series was held over three sessions in the lead-up to the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit to address key challenges currently constraining farmers to implement healthy soil practices. The first two sessions were held under the topics of bringing soil health into policy and financing healthy soil practices. This third session focused on the science and knowledge needed to generate actionable data for soil health monitoring and scaling up, informing and tracking soil health practices on the ground whilst addressing key barriers.

From 7-8 May 2024, African leaders and stakeholders came together to reverse soil degradation and map a joint way forward for the continent by putting farmers first.

The Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSHS) was raised to address changes in the agricultural sector in Africa since the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the Africa Green Revolution. Since the Abuja Declaration, sustainable soil management has become an increasingly recognized priority for reversing land degradation and contributing to the climate adaptation strategies of African countries.

As active proponents of soil health to address all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, CA4SH participated in and hosted several sessions at the AFSHS to bridge science and policy spaces with examples of concerted action on the ground.

Biome Makers, a global agtech company, announces the release of its 2023 Impact Report, which details the company's significant contributions to regenerative agriculture and soil health over the past year. The report highlights Biome Makers’ commitment to sustainability and the innovative use of its BeCrop technology.

Understanding of African ecosystems; initiative that establishes baseline and monitoring for land degradation assessment and rehabilitation

Story and photo essay by: Anthony Ochieng Onyango and Faith Tuarari

In a recent review of contemporary, peer-reviewed literature, CIFOR-ICRAF Land Health Data Analyst, Eva Wanjiru Murigi uncovered nuances of how scientific concepts of soil affects how we value and measure soil health, and why.

In an era where soil degradation threatens food security and environmental stability worldwide, the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) is at the forefront of promoting biochar as a circular solution. The 2023 Global Biochar Market Report, co-authored with the US Biochar Initiative (USBI), presents an in-depth analysis of the biochar industry’s growth and its crucial role in improving soil health on a global scale.

From afar, scaling soil health by switching from traditional monocrop agricultural systems to regenerative systems may seem as easy as planting the right plants in the right spot. However transitioning to new systems usually sees farmers’ yields decrease before they increase, which can be a limiting factor for farmers who don’t have a financial cushion to fall back on. Support is needed to help them bridge the gap.

CA4SH is a multi-stakeholder partnership of member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organizations, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and more. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, we organized the second installation of our 2024 Webinar Series: The road ahead for soil health action to explore different mechanisms to invest in soil health, making sure these investments reach smallholder farmers.

Worldwide, agriculture employs the largest portion of youth (around 60% in Africa, for example), making soil health central to youth empowerment and food security in developing countries where agriculture's contribution to GDP exceeds 20%. Youth can participate in advocacy for soil and land health through political fora, techno-communications, community action, research and more.

Roël D. Houdanon, Founder & Chief Technical Advisor of the Land and Health Association, shares his thoughts on avenues for youth participation and his unique story of moving through advocacy spaces and championing soil health, as well as a case study for youth action on the ground.

CA4SH is a multi stakeholder partnership of member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organizations, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and more. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, we organized the first installation of our 2024 Webinar Series: The road ahead for soil health action.

From 26 February to 1 March 2024, the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) took place at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss global environmental policy amongst the 193 Member States.

The discussions centred on how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary environmental crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, pollution and waste. Luckily, we know well of a solution to these challenges and, indeed, all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: scaling soil health, globally.

Learn more about CA4SH engagements at UNEA-6.

“Soils are not just a support: they have to be in good health for agricultural activities to be established and prosper. In Ivory Coast, the Ministry of Agriculture has brought together farmers, policymakers and scientists to work on practical operations aimed at guaranteeing the long-term future of soils in the forest landscapes of West Africa. The participants have made a series of recommendations, including controlling deforestation, reducing pesticide use and extending agroforestry.”

Read the full story from CIRAD

Image Caption: Field study on soil health in the Téné Classified Forest, Ivory Coast © CIRAD

Research shows that soil is connected to all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, individually and as a holistic solution. To help underscore the importance of these connections, CA4SH has summarized how each of the SDGs links to soil.