"Golden opportunity" for Australia to help solve soil crisis, says ASC

Scientists estimate the world now loses about 75 billion tonnes of topsoil a year as it tries to feed itself - a rate which is liable to grow as demand for food increases and the climate changes. The Australian Soil Consortium (ASC) is now calling for Australia to take a leading role in overcoming the increasing threat of land degradation.

“Recent satellite surveys have shown a 1% decline in the world’s farmed and grazed area every year over the past quarter of a century, due to a combination of land degradation and urban sprawl,” said soils expert Professor Roger Swift of the ASC and University of Queensland.

“Such losses are not sustainable and must cease if we are to avoid serious risk to food security in the mid-century. At present it appears we are mining the planet in order to feed ourselves.”

The farmers and scientists who make up the ASC say that Australia has a strong track record for reducing land degradation, especially through the National Soils Program and Landcare movement. Professor Swift said, “We need to share the keys to successful soils management globally at a much faster rate in order to contribute to global food security into the future.”

The ASC is calling for a re-energised national research effort focused on engaging producers, consumers and policymakers; measuring and monitoring soil health; innovative farm practices and technologies; and novel soil-plant interfaces.

“In particular, we think there is exceptional potential to improve yields of food from existing farm land through novel technologies which help improve soil fertility and soil health,” said soil researcher Associate Professor Brajesh Singh of the University of Western Sydney.

“For example, rapid and real-time soil-fertility assessment, new spectroscopy techniques used to analyse samples and produce site-specific soil maps for farmers, might help to halve the amount of fertiliser needed to improve food production.

“This can not only reduce costs for Australian farmers and improve their competitive position but it could, at the same time, bring food self sufficiency to places such as sub-Saharan Africa, where poor farmers can seldom afford to use modern fertilisers.

“Just a small amount of fertiliser in the right place at the right time can lift food output 30-80% in a developing country, making a dramatic difference to issues such as malnutrition and poverty.

“We must also recognise that world supplies of mined fertiliser nutrients are finite and could run low in the mid-century, so techniques like this are vital to avoid wasting them now and to extend their life in a world that may double its demand for food.”

Professor Swift added that Australia has a distinguished record of improvement in soil management due to our knowledge and experience of coping in a hot, dry climate.

“Australian farmers are masters in raising crop and livestock yields under a highly variable climate that swings rapidly from flood to drought. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that is exactly what we can expect to see more often with two degrees or more of global warming by the mid-century,” Professor Swift said.

“Our knowledge, backed by a reinvigorated research effort, can make a real difference to these issues which affect the future of all humanity - as well as delivering major economic, nutritional and environmental benefits to Australians.”