Soil health is the ability of the soil to sustain the productivity, diversity, and environmental services of terrestrial ecosystems (FAO and ITPS, 2020). Efforts and investments focused on increasing plant nutrient uptake and content can be lost if soil management is not sustainable or if soils are not healthy. Suppose soils are compacted, eroded, nutrient-depleted, soil organic matter-depleted, contaminated, acidified, or present salinity problems. In that case, they cannot produce plants that contain nutrients necessary for human health nor assimilate nutrients added by fertilization.

In response to the compounding climate-food-energy-finance crises, it is necessary to produce better (quantity, diversity with quality) with less (fewer inputs of resources, with fewer impacts on the environment) and with equity along the food value chains (from environmental services to consumption). Sustainable soil management is essential to preserve and increase nutrient content in soils, plants, animals, and humans. In concert with soil health, sustainable fertilization is an essential link in the food security chain and should be considered in holistic programs to achieve zero hunger and climate change mitigation.

The network focuses on the sustainable increase of soil fertility, boosting its physical, chemical and biological properties. The GSOIL4N held in 2022 identified the gaps and challenges to the sustainable increase of soil fertility and issued recommendations to overcome soil organic carbon loss, nutrient imbalances, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with unsustainable crop practices.

INSOILFER was established based on the recommendations of the Outcome Document of the Global Symposium on Soils for Nutrition (GSOIL4N). The network is a vehicle to implement the International Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers and the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management.

The network's primary goal is to channel collective action towards sustainable soil fertility and fertilizer management, with the vision of achieving healthy and fertile soils by 2030 and contributing to the transformation of agrifood systems.

The overall goals of this new network are:

• Implementation of sustainable and balanced soil fertility management for food security.
• Promotion of actions to enhance the link between nourished healthy soils and crop, animal and human nutrition;
• Avoidance of the underuse, misuse, and overuse of fertilizers
• Strengthening technical and technological capacities through coordination among existing networks.
• Evaluation and improvement of the safety and quality of fertilizers.

INSOILFER operates with three working groups addressing the following themes:

1. Establishment of a soil nutrient monitoring system

• The main focus of the WG1 is on supporting decision-making on soil nutrient management at national and local scales, which is helpful for investment planning and evidence-based recommendations for sustainable fertilizer use. Essential tasks for this WG are identifying key indicators to monitor soil fertility and promoting a data-sharing approach to support soil fertility and nutrient budget mapping in collaboration with the International Network of Soil Information Institutions (INSII).

2. Soil fertility and fertilizer management

• The WG2 promotes sustainable soil management (SSM) and sustainable fertilization practices, which should be widely known and disseminated at the farm scale, emphasizing innovations that optimize nutrient use efficiency such as integrated soil fertility management approaches, increasing fertilizer use efficiency, and implementing nature-based solutions, technological tools, and innovations.

3.Fertilizer safety and quality assessment.

• The objective of WG3 is to monitor and improve the quality and safety of traditional (organic and inorganic) and innovative nutrient sources (biofertilizers, biostimulants, and recycled sources). The International Network on Fertilizer Analysis (INFA) has become the WG3. It focuses on harmonizing methodologies and protocols for the quality and safety assessment of fertilizers and alternative nutrient sources and building and strengthening national capacities of laboratories.

INSOILFER governance is composed of the Chair and three Vice-Chairs leading each one of the working groups, the Technical Committees, and the GSP Secretariat as facilitator and coordinator of the process. INSOILFER members endorsed the governance in the First Working Group Meetings held in November 2023 (see image below). The details of these meetings and the elections are available for consultation HERE. The Terms of Reference considered for electing the Chair, Vice-Chairs, Technical Committees and Reference Institutions are available for consultation in the links below:

Chair and Vice-Chairs INSOILFER Terms of Reference Chair and Vice-Chairs.pdf

Technical Committees INSOILFER Terms of Reference Technical Committees.pdf

Reference Institutions INSOILFER Terms of Reference Institutions_2.pdf

INSOIFER welcomes representatives from governments, academia, laboratories, the private sector, NGOs, farmers associations, and any other stakeholders from around the world who share the vision of achieving healthy and fertile soils by 2030 and contributing to the transformation of agrifood systems.

If you are interested in joining INSOILFER, please fill out the form to become a part of the network. Once your registration has been processed, your organization will be included on the interactive map showing the location of INSOILFER members (see below). INSOILFER membership is free of charge and its success is based on the active and voluntary participation of each and every one of its members. Upon registration, you will receive details about joining the network, the topics to be addressed, governance structure, operating guidelines, and preparations for working group meetings. Stay tuned for updates and further engagement!