Ecology, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Markets and Companies

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Leading experts in the field stressed the role of agriculture and the importance of the sustainable use of soils in food production and in offering ecosystem services. The conclusions of the conference will be included on the agenda of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting (AGRIFISH) in November.

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid in her opening speech emphasized that it must not be forgotten that soil is practically a non-renewable resource. "If overexploited, it takes a very long time, more than a human lifespan, for it to recover. According to scientists, it can take hundreds of years to form a centimeter of topsoil," Kaljulaid said.

Estonian Minister of Rural Affairs Tarmo Tamm said that specific management practices for local soils and land use mean that further emphasis should be put on measures targeted on soils during the discussions on the future Common Agricultural Policy. "I think that it is crucial to raise awareness among all parties. This includes people who work with soils every day but also, for example, school children," Tamm added.

European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan stressed that we need to ensure a sustainable food production.

"We must encourage smart agriculture, which plays a vital part in the sustainability of soils. We need to fight climate change, start using new technologies, be open to innovation, and cooperate with farmers. The Common Agricultural Policy also has an important part in this," Hogan said.

The participants of the conference agreed that there is a further need for better solutions to help improve the condition of soils in agriculture. In addition, it was pointed out that as we take into account various international climate agreements, the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and the important role that soils play in the climate system, both existing and new initiatives on balancing the soil carbon cycle need to be supported.

In order to implement a knowledge-based policy and to plan land use at all levels, the use of soil data should be increased in policy making and in land use decisions. To make better use of soil data, there is a need to modernize soil maps and further increase the minimum standards for the spatial resolution of soil maps in EU member states. The potential of big data must also be fully explored and used.

The participants also found that there is a further need to increase public awareness about the importance of soils. In addition, there is a need to increase farmers' productivity and income, and to promote the use of more efficient and more environmentally friendly technologies. For that, more favorable conditions must be created through the efficient organization of knowledge transfer and advisory services.

During the panel discussion held after the presentations, the participants found that the European Union needs a more binding and effective soil policy to ensure the sustainability of EU soils and land use. As the soils, their conditions, and threats to them are different across all member states, it is important that the specific soil protection measures are also implemented at a national level.

The conference was held by the Ministry of Rural Affairs in cooperation with the Estonian University of Life Sciences.