Regenerative agricultural practices that protect soils

Make soil a solution to climate change !

Global leaders have gathered in Paris to negotiate a climate agreement that will influence climate actions throughout the world.  We have the science showing that organically managed soils have the potential to be a powerful ally in this process. On World Soil Day, IFOAM – Organics International calls on leaders to include regenerative agricultural practices that protect soils in their solutions to climate change.

Healthy soils are key to biodiversity, food security and play a fundamental role in fighting climate change. Carbon-rich soils are like sponges absorbing water during floods and releasing it during drought. Yet when soils are damaged, they release CO2. Organic farming puts carbon back into soils by keeping them covered with plants, increasing crop diversity, composting and carefully planned grazing.

We can heal the soil by transitioning to organic agriculture, ending their chemical-induced depletion and strengthening their potential as carbon-consuming sinks.

In a step toward ensuring this, IFOAM – Organics International has signed the “4 per 1000”(link is external) Initiative which aims to improve the organic matter content and promote carbon sequestration in soils through the application of agricultural practices. Other signatories include ministers from Australia, Germany and France as well as international organizations such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Resources Institute.

With the end of the International Year of Soils, IFOAM – Organics International calls on world leaders to put policies and incentives in place to empower farmers to make their farms resilient and become stewards of soils.

 

Contacts and Links

• IFOAM – Organics International, Gábor Figeczky, Advocacy Manager, g.figeczky@ifoam.bio, +49 157 56925021
• IFOAM EU Group, Eric Gall, Policy Manager, eric.gall@ifoam-eu.org, +32 491 07 25 37
• Short video: What we want from the climate change agreement(link is external)
• Organic Agriculture and Soils

Read the text: IFOAM