THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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December, 2024
The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA) Chairwoman Deniz Ataç stated that one third of the world’s agricultural land is degraded and 75 billion tonnes of soil is eroded every year worldwide.
Drawing attention to the fact that 640 million tonnes of soil is eroded every year in Türkiye Ataç said, “Growing cities are swallowing fertile agricultural lands. In the last 20 years, our country has lost agricultural land approximately the size of 4.5 Istanbul.”
‘SOIL MUST BE HEALTHY’
Highlighting that this year, World Soil Day underlines the importance of soil protection and sustainable soil management with the theme ‘Care for Soil: Measure, Monitor, Manage’, Deniz Ataç emphasised the vital importance of soils and explained, “Soil provides a growth environment for plants, provides water and nutrients, stores carbon and regulates the climate. Soil, which is the largest carbon stock after the oceans, is home to 25 percent of biodiversity. While 95 percent of our food comes from soil, it is also the provider of many resources such as water, medicine and raw materials. There are traces of soil in every breath we take and the water we drink. However, for all these, the soil must be healthy.”
Pointing out that the problems such as erosion, loss of organic matter, acidification and salinisation are causing soil to lose its health rapidly, Ataç added, “One third of the world’s agricultural land is degraded and 20 million hectares of agricultural land are affected by this negative process every year. Again, 75 billion tonnes of soil are eroded worldwide every year. This means the loss of soil the size of a football field every 5 seconds. In Türkiye, 640 million tonnes of soil is eroded every year. Growing cities are swallowing up fertile agricultural lands; in the last 20 years, Türkiye has lost approximately 4.5 Istanbul-sized agricultural lands. In addition to erosion, imperviousness of soils by covering them with asphalt or concrete, pollution and wrong practices without soil analyses also pose serious threats.”
“In 1990, while arable agricultural land per capita was 0.28 hectares worldwide, this figure decreased to 0.20 hectares today. In our country, it decreased from 0.51 hectares to 0.28 hectares in the same period. Currently, 2.3 billion people in the world are malnourished, while 850 million people are struggling with hunger. While this is the case, research and forecasts showing that the demand for food will boost by 50 percent by 2050 are alarming. If no measures are taken, by 2050, 90 percent of the land will be degraded and erosion will cause a 50 percent loss of productivity. This puts at risk not only the future of humans but the entire planet. Therefore, we have to manage our soil with knowledge and wisdom,” she concluded…
