[Answered] A key element of sustainable food production is healthy soil, However, the current status of soil health is worrisome. Elaborate

Healthy soils are the foundation of the food system. Soils are the basis for agriculture and the medium in which nearly all food-producing plants grow. Healthy soils produce healthy crops that in turn nourish people and animals. Indeed, soil quality is directly linked to food quality and quantity.

Significance of soil in food production:

• A key element of sustainable food production is healthy soil because nearly 95 per cent of global food production depends on soil.
• Soils supply the essential nutrients, water, oxygen and root support that food-producing plants need to grow and flourish.
• They also serve as a buffer to protect delicate plant roots from drastic fluctuations in temperature.
• A healthy soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem,  packed with microscopic and larger organisms that perform many vital functions including nutrient cycling; controlling plant disease, insect and weed pests; improving soil structure with positive effects for soil water and nutrient holding capacity.
• Soil erosion not only affects fertility but also increases the risk of floods and landslides.

Current status of soil health:

• While soil degradation is occurring in 145 million hectares in India, it is estimated that 96.40 million hectares (about 30 percent of the total geographical area) is affected by land degradation.
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s ‘State of Land, Soil and Water’ report, globally, the biophysical status of 5,670 million hectares of land is declining, of which 1,660 million hectares (29 percent) is attributed to human-induced land degradation.
• Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides led to the deterioration of soil health and contamination of water bodies and the food chain, which pose serious health risks to people and livestock.
• The global annual production of
  industrial chemicals has doubled since the beginning of the 21st century and is projected to increase by 85 per cent by the end of the decade.
• Another challenge comes from salinisation, which affects 160 million hectares of cropland worldwide.

Way forward:

• The need of the hour is to adopt innovative policies and agro-ecological practices that create healthy and sustainable food production systems.
• From ordinary folk to those in the highest positions in governments, from farmers to CEOs, from scientists to school children, everybody must join to save the soil of the planet and ensure food security.