EARTH is not just a lump of rock in space. Believe it or not, the Earth “breathes and eats” as well. We are part of the biological beings in Earth’s body, similar to other organisms that live and thrive in our human body.
Most of us are well aware of global warming and pollution, but few are aware of soil extinction. So why is the issue of decaying soil is vital for us to know and act upon?
Soil is where millions or billions of lives strive, from humans, animals, plants and various forms of microorganisms. Yet, the United Nation (UN) agencies estimate that we have only between 70 and 120 harvests left.
So, what does that mean? It simply means that we can only use our usable land for another 35 to 50 years for agriculture purposes. Hence, it is estimated that by 2045 or 2050, we will be producing 25% – 40% less food while our Malaysian population will continue to rise yearly.
What I’m saying is, if we do not address our soil degradation problems now, we may face food shortages in 15 years-time due to lack of agriculture produce!
Soil degradation causes water scarcity, which is directly correlated with soil. Infertile soil is unable to absorb and regulate water. The absence of water retention leads to water shortage, famine and floods.
“Dying soil” also contributes to biodiversity and habitat loss, which causes the extinction of many species annually. In addition, 70% of our insect biomass is gone due to this crisis. The soil habitat is further disrupted by biodiversity loss, which hinders recovery.
Soil stores three times the carbon as living plants, and two times as much as the atmosphere, making it critical for carbon sequestration. If our soil is not regenerated, a million tonnes of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere.
So, what can be done to restore the soil back to its prime? It is a simple solution, which is to bring back the organic content to the earth. Regeneration of soil requires a minimum of 3%- to 5% of organic content, such as animal waste and plant litter.
M’sia must act now
The higher the organic content in our soil, the lesser irrigation is needed as the water holding capacity of the soil increases.
For example, in the event organic content in soil is increased between 6% and 8%, the water requirement for irrigation drops by about 30%. Similarly, an increment of 12% to 15% organic matter into the soil will reduce the need of water for agriculture by 10% to 15%.
In layman’s term, for a rich soil with organic matter of 15%, we will only require 15 litres of water for the same crop, which previously needed 100 litres.
In essence, we are saving on water usage in our food production as well!
Apart from using less water for irrigation purposes, soil with rich organic content produces higher nutrients in the vegetation than soil which has lesser organic content.
So how do we go about regenerating our soil? Well, the Government should enact the necessary policy to introduce conservation agriculture practises in our country.
The main goal of the conservation agriculture is to “copy nature”. The fundamental principle of conservation agriculture is to let the soil to be as it is; keeping the ground covered with crop residual and plants, less dependent on pesticides and rotate crops rather than sticking to only one type.
We should come together to regenerate our soil. Everyone needs food and agriculture produces regardless of our race, religion and political ideologies.
And we do not act now, our future generation may face food scarcity issues to due to poor soil conditions. – March 22, 2022
Manjit Singh is the Federal Territories Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) head of environmental bureau.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
