RECSOIL Pilot Projects advance implementation of sustainable soil management practices
Healthy soils play a pivotal role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Focusing on increasing soil carbon and improving soil health on agricultural and degraded lands, the RECSOIL Initiative engages with farmers to address site-specific soil threats through sustainable soil management interventions.
The RECSOIL Pilot Projects have been initiated to kickstart this transformative process:
1. In COSTA RICA, approximately 45 dairy and coffee farmers are actively contributing to the reduction of up to 872 tons of CO2eq per year across nearly 500 hectares. This is achieved through the adoption of sustainable soil management practices, encompassing grazing and manure management, erosion control techniques, and the enhancement of residue cover. Through engaging with national certification schemes for ecosystem services provision, farmers are given recognition and remuneration for the sustainable soil management practices implemented with RECSOIL.
2. In TOGO, around 50 smallholders are making significant strides by mitigating up to 146 tons of CO2eq per year across approximately 250 hectares. This is accomplished through the implementation of sustainable soil management practices in horticulture, cashew production, and agroforestry.
3. In MEXICO, close to 40 grain and agave farmers are actively engaged in reducing up to 59 tons of CO2eq per year across nearly 140 hectares. This is being achieved through the adoption of sustainable soil management practices such as compost application, liming, cover crops, among other techniques.
Trainings in these RECSOIL pilot projects were implemented in collaboration with the Global Soil Doctors Programme. As RECSOIL continues to expand to other areas, three new field exercises (“Soil moisture: feel and appearance,” “Soil and water content: gravimetric method,” and “Soil cover estimation”) have been developed between the RECSOIL and Soil Doctors’ teams to facilitate practical implementation of sustainable soil management. These exercises include the evaluation of soil texture and moisture by touch, soil moisture by weight, and soil cover. The two soil moisture exercises provide information about how much water is available to plants, which influences management decisions such as irrigation, sowing, cover cropping, and more. The soil cover exercise gives farmers a useful indicator of their soil´s vulnerability to erosion, and which can guide further planting and mulching practices.
Beyond these three pilot initiatives, significant interest has been expressed by farmers and national representatives for an expansion of the initiative, both for further development in the existing project locations and in additional locations. The map below shows countries in which RECSOIL is currently active, either through ongoing projects or discussions with national representatives to implement RECSOIL projects:
To determine RECSOIL project locations, the Global Soil Partnership responds to interested national stakeholders.
The soil carbon sequestration potential of the interested country is evaluated using the GSOCseq map alongside the convergence of other climate threats and socioeconomic aspects. RECSOIL partners with national and local governments, soil laboratories, farmer organizations, farmers, and other actors across the agricultural sector to harness carbon sequestration to increase the resilience of agrifood systems and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable soil management. If you are interested in implementing the RECSOIL initiative in your country, please fill out this form.
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