Healthy soils to combat climate change and end hunger
On January 21, 2021, the expert panel "Healthy Soils to Combat Climate Change and End Hunger" of the "4 per 1000" initiative was held as part of GFFA 2021. It was moderated by Dr. Paul Luu, Executive Secretary of the "4 per 1000" initiative. The Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, highlighted the importance of healthy soils and emphasized the importance of the "4 per 1000" initiative in an opening video. Wolfgang Zornbach, Head of Unit for Sustainability, Climate Protection and Climate Impacts at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, emphasized the importance of carbon in soil in his speech, comparing it to a diamond.
The panel was composed of representatives from four different stakeholder groups. Keynote speeches by the panelists were followed by a lively discussion.
Moderator of the panel:
Dr. Paul Luu, Executive Secretary of the "4 per 1000" Initiative
Videos
The introductional video of the german minster Klöckner:
You can find the recording of the whole panel here:
Our Panelists
We had four panelists representing different stakeholder groups who gave impulse speeches followed by a very lively discussion:
Claire Chenu
Research and Education
Member of the "4 per 1000" Scientific and Technical Committee and coordinating EJP SOIL
Victoria Prentis
Governments and Local Authorities
Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food, UK
Natacha Agbo
Farmers organizations & NGO and Civil Society
African Innovation Services - AFRIS
Twin Regions from the perspective of Benin
Key messages:
- Soil is a diamond we need to polish carefully for the generations to come
- Soil health is important for mitigation, adaptation and food security
- 4p1000, backed up by solid scientific findings, is one of the major instruments for the implementation of Paris Agreement
- In order to reverse the severe soil degaration globally, we need to improve our soil policy with the goal of paying farmers for taking care of soils
- The concept of twin regions, and in particular an implementation of it between Africa and Europe, raises major interest as an instrument to achieve climate justice and international solidarity through the large-scale transformation to soil regeneration, agroecology and sustainable land management practices
- Living labs as a research approach with NGOs as key partners can bring the research and the farmers community closer together enabling realistic development of local solutions to ensure soil health and carbon sequestration
- Soil has already been heavily degraded, a lot of damage has been done. Soil policies need to be improved with the goal of paying farmers for taking care of soils, indicators need to be specified, actions are clear
Twin Regions Project Natacha one of the key
What do you think about the twin regions idea?
