More than half of the world’s soils are now in poor condition, threatening global food production, biodiversity and the planet’s ability to store carbon, according to a landmark assessment released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Thursday.

The report, released as the COP17 UN summit on desertification gets underway in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, warns that the deterioration of soil health has reached a level that requires urgent global action, particularly as growing populations and expanding agricultural activities continue to place unprecedented pressure on land resources.

The FAO’s second major global assessment of soil health since its landmark 2015 baseline report found that soil management was rated poor or very poor in 52.5 per cent of the regions and subregions assessed.

Only about one-third of the assessed areas were rated as having fair soil management, while just 14 per cent were classified as good or very good.

The assessment also found a worrying overall trend in soil health. Conditions improved in only about 10 per cent of the areas evaluated, while soil health deteriorated in 58 per cent.

The FAO warned that the figures demonstrate the need for a fundamental change in the way humanity manages one of its most important natural resources.

“Globally, we must shift from a mindset of soil exploitation to one of soil stewardship,” the organisation said.

Soil is far more than the layer of earth used for growing crops. According to the FAO, it supports approximately 95 per cent of global food production, provides a habitat for about 59 per cent of terrestrial biodiversity, and represents the planet’s second-largest carbon sink after the oceans.

The deterioration of soil therefore carries consequences far beyond agriculture, with implications for food security, ecosystems, climate change and the livelihoods of millions of people.

The pressure on soils has intensified since the FAO’s first major global assessment in 2015. The world’s population has grown by about 800 million people over the period, increasing demand for food and agricultural land.

The resulting expansion of agriculture has led to the conversion of an additional estimated 80 million hectares of land into cropland — an area roughly comparable to the combined size of France and Germany.

As more land is brought under cultivation, soils are increasingly being subjected to intensive farming practices that can strip away nutrients, reduce organic matter and weaken the biological systems that maintain soil fertility.

The FAO identified soil erosion as the single greatest threat to soil health globally.

Erosion occurs when fertile topsoil is removed by wind or water, often accelerated by unsustainable agricultural practices. Once the nutrient-rich upper layer of soil is lost, agricultural productivity can decline and farmers may become increasingly dependent on fertilisers and other external inputs.

The report also highlighted nutrient imbalance and the loss of organic carbon as major concerns.

In some parts of the world, excessive or poorly managed fertiliser application has resulted in nutrient surpluses and pollution, while other soils are being depleted of essential nutrients because farmers lack adequate access to inputs or appropriate soil-management practices.

Other pressures include the loss of soil biodiversity, salinisation, pollution and the continued expansion of cities into agricultural areas.

The degradation of soil biodiversity is particularly significant because soil contains complex communities of organisms that contribute to nutrient cycling, decomposition, plant growth and the overall resilience of agricultural ecosystems.

Despite the scale of the problem, the FAO said solutions are already available and, in many cases, have been successfully demonstrated.

Among the practices capable of improving soil health are reduced or zero tillage, the use of cover crops, agroforestry and more efficient and balanced application of fertilisers.

Cover cropping, including the use of legumes and brassicas, can help protect soil from erosion while improving soil structure and nutrient cycling. Agroforestry can similarly combine trees with agricultural production to improve land resilience and biodiversity.

The FAO, however, noted that the widespread adoption of these practices remains limited.

One of the major obstacles is the high initial cost of transitioning from conventional agricultural systems to more sustainable methods. Farmers, particularly smallholders, may lack the financial resources, technical assistance, equipment and information required to change established farming practices.

The organisation therefore called for stronger financial incentives and targeted support to enable farmers to adopt sustainable soil-management systems.

It also urged governments and institutions to invest in localised soil data so that farmers and policymakers can make decisions based on the specific characteristics and challenges of their soils.

The report further recommended greater recognition and integration of indigenous land-management practices, many of which have evolved over generations to protect soil fertility and adapt agricultural production to local environmental conditions.

Stronger legal and institutional frameworks were also identified as necessary to ensure that soil stewardship becomes an integral part of land-use and agricultural policies.

The FAO’s warning comes at a time when countries are facing increasing pressure to produce more food while dealing with climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss.

For developing countries, where millions of households depend directly on agriculture for food and income, declining soil quality could have particularly severe consequences.

Poor soils can reduce crop yields, increase production costs and undermine farmers’ livelihoods, while degraded land can become increasingly vulnerable to drought, flooding and other environmental stresses.

The FAO assessment consequently places soil health at the centre of the global conversation on food security and environmental sustainability.

Its message is that protecting the soil cannot be treated simply as an environmental concern. It is also an investment in food production, rural livelihoods, biodiversity and the long-term resilience of economies.

With more than half of assessed regions already recording poor or very poor soil management and deterioration occurring in more than half of the areas evaluated, the FAO is urging governments, farmers and other stakeholders to move from recognising the problem to implementing solutions.

The challenge, according to the report, is no longer whether effective methods for restoring and protecting soils exist, but whether the world can provide the resources, policies and incentives required to put those methods into practice before further degradation threatens the ability of future generations to feed themselves.