Just a handful of soil contains the hundreds of thousands of microbes, bacteria and fungi that are the foundation of our ecosystems and food systems all over the world. Yet, soil health, integrity, and resilience are at breaking point, especially in dry regions. Intensive farming, unsustainable agricultural practices and chemical use, coupled with diminishing arable land, pollution, and climate change, create a perfect storm in which soil, life’s very backbone, is imperilled.
The theme of this year’s World Soil Day, “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity,” helps us to focus on current threats to the vital ecosystem and biodiversity of soil, and what ICARDA and CGIAR is doing in dry regions to protect it.