Ahead of World Soil Day on 5th December, Farming First TV spoke to Ronald Vargas, of the Global Soil Partnership at the Food and Agriculture Organization, about why the United Nations agency has declared an International Year of Soils in 2015.

Mr. Vargas explains that although soil is crucial for food production, and human health is dependent on nutrients “the knowledge on how to handle nutrients is not…shared.” An International Year of Soils, he explains, could bring together lots of different initiatives, to join forces to bring the issue of soil health to the global food security agenda.

Mr. Vargas also discusses the need to reduce the cost of technologies that test soil quality, to make them more available to farmers. He uses the example of the Soil Doctor Program in Thailand, which trains farmers to use simple kits to test neighbours’ lands and then advise how to improve their soils.

Watch more video interviews on the Farming First YouTube Channel