#BTColumn – Urgently needed – save soil solutions!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Dr. Madhuri Doma and Dr. Vijaya Thani

With the advent of industrial revolution, man, equipped with sophisticated machines, fueled by his greed and with a juvenile idea that exploiting nature would bring economic wellbeing, has ripped the planet apart.

What flourished for millennia is callously being destroyed in a few hundred years.

The most intelligent species failed to realise that the planet does not need them, they need the planet. Massive deforestation, industrial agriculture, livestock farming, burning of fossil fuels for industries and automobiles has poisoned the very resources that sustain life.

Most of these issues are fortunately being taken up by responsible governments, organisations and individuals.

But one aspect which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and has failed to receive the necessary attention is soil. According to scientists the minimum organic content for agricultural soil to be considered healthy is three per cent to 6 per cent and it is alarming to know that not even a single nation matches this criterion.

According to the United Nations convention to combat desertification (UNCCD), every second, one acre of soil is turning into a desert, by 2050 90 per cent of the world’s soil could be degraded. If soil extinction is not prevented, food production will fall by 40 per cent by 2045, when there will be 9.2 billion mouths to feed on the planet.

And on the other hand, healthy soil which is rich in microbial content can provide cost effective solutions for several ecological and social issues like global warming, water scarcity, food and nutritional security to name a few.

Soil regeneration requires long term policies.

The implementation of long-term government policies needs people’s support, and this support can be generated only through raising awareness.

To serve this important purpose, The Save Soil movement was launched in March this year by Sadhguru, a yogi and visionary to raise global awareness about soil degradation and press upon the urgent need for action.

In early March he visited the Caribbean and six Caribbean nations including Barbados have already signed MOUs showing their commitment to save soil. On the 21st of March Sadhguru embarked on a 100-day motorcycle journey covering 30,000 kms across 27 Nations starting from London, the journey reaching its final leg culminating in India on the 21st of June.

The Save Soil movement aims at making ecological consciousness and awareness economically profitable. A three-pronged strategy was presented to 197 parties at the 15th session of Conference of parties (COP15) of the UNCCD at Cote d’Ivoire with one overarching objective of a minimum of 3-6 per cent organic content in the agricultural soils:

1. An appropriately phased program of providing inspiration, and incentives to farmers.

2. Simplifying the process by which farmers take advantage of carbon credits.

3. Developing a special label for foods grown in soil with the target levels of organic content and promote the health benefits of these foods.

The Save Soil website, Consciousplanet.org offers a treasure trove of soil related facts that are derived from scientific data and presented in a simplified and aesthetic manner making it easy to understand for everyone. By signing up as an earth buddy one can become the voice for soil.

Let us all come together to support this all-inclusive global movement which has soil health and economic wellbeing of the farmers at its core. The farmer who has love in his heart for his land should reap the maximum benefits!

Dr. Madhuri Doma is a radiologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Dr. Vijaya Thani, MBBS, Dip
Family Medicine.