“Over one-third of the Earth’s soils are already degraded and over 90 per cent could become degraded by 2050.” 

This is just one of the statistics that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is hoping to turn around through its World Soil Day campaign.

Held annually on Dec. 5, World Soil Day focuses attention on the importance of healthy soil and encourages advocacy for the sustainable management of soil resources around the globe. The theme of this year’s Word Soil Day is “Stop soil erosion, Save our Future.” Previous themes have focused on food security, healthy eco-systems and soil pollution.

Focused on Soil Erosion

Preventing soil erosion has been a major focus of FAO throughout 2019. In May, the FAO hosted the Global Symposium on Soil Erosion at its headquarters in Rome, Italy. There were 20 sessions and more than 100 presentations in the symposium’s three days; speakers included scientists, academic experts, farmers, government officials and even an astronaut, who described soil erosion from space.

The FAO also used the symposium as an opportunity to launch “Soil erosion: the greatest challenge for sustainable soil management,” authored by Dan Pennock, emeritus professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Pennock’s 100-page book is an excellent read on the current state of knowledge regarding soil erosion.

Click here to read “Soil erosion: the greatest challenge for sustainable soil management.”

Get involved!

Soil is important to the entire planet, but retailers can help by spreading the message of World Soil Day closer to home. If you are on social media, tweet about how your retail promotes sustainable soil practices to reduce erosion or share an interesting fact about soil erosion and its impact on crop yields, biodiversity and hydrogeological risk.

Not sure where to start? Check out the resources on the FAO website. You’ll find everything from infographics to ready-made animated social media graphics. Click here to access the campaign materials.

Be sure to use the hashtags #worldsoilday and #stopsoilerosion when you tweet. If you tag @CdnAgRetail, we will be sure to retweet you and help spread the word.