"2015: International Year of Soils"

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Rural Observatory (OMR) on Thursday (12/11) held a technical workshop on soils, at which different interested actors gathered, including farmers associations, the public and private sectors involved in agriculture and natural resources management, academics as well as cooperation and diplomatic partners.

2015 was declared International Year of Soils (IYOS) by the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations. The aim of IYOS is to raise awareness amongst civil society and political decision makers on the importance of soils in assuring food security and in the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

In the opening of the workshop, FAO Representative in Mozambique, Castro Camarada, highlighted different aspects of soil that reflect its relevance in sustainable development. "Soils are the foundation for food production as well as for the production of fibres, fuel and medicines", Camarada said. "Soils sustain biodiversity and help us to remain resilient in the face of floods and droughts, while also helping us to combat and adapt to climate change."

In Mozambique, Rui Brito, from the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering of Eduardo Mondlane University (FAEF-UEM), said, climate change is felt mainly through "the increase and variability of temperatures and rainfall, which are becoming more concentrated, as well as through droughts, floods and cyclones, all of which are becoming more frequent and intense".

Climate change, but also population growth, according to Laurinda Nobela, from the Institute of Agricultural Research of Mozambique (IIAM), "are putting more and more pressure on natural resources" and are two of the most serious challenges that put the quality of soils at risk in the country. Among the natural factors, Laurinda Nobela, added, is erosion, among the human ones, "deforestation – with the creation of new farming fields and continuing deforestation, non-sustainable agricultural practices, uncontrolled fires and mining". Other factors include, according to the OMR Director, João Mosca, "populations movements and their survival strategies through the occupation of and conflicts over land and the resulting deterioration of soils".

The International Year of Soils aims to promote investment actions to assure the sustainable management of soils at a global level in order to keep them healthy.