About: soil
Boosting climate smart agriculture through access to ripping technology
With soil health high on the policy agenda, EURACTIV took a look at how advances in tractor technology can help boost climate-smart agriculture and promote no-till agriculture through the lens of a project in East Africa.
Safety vs. sovereignty: Stakeholders split over increasing imports of ‘cleaner’ phosphates
Stakeholders are calling on the European Commission to stop prioritising home-grown phosphates high in cancer-causing cadmium over imports of cleaner products from non-EU countries, but others warn that this risks sacrificing EU autonomy.
EU earmarks €320 million for soil health research to contribute to carbon removal
The European Union is stepping up efforts on soil health research with the announcement of a new Horizon Europe mission, which will also provide key funding for the promotion of carbon farming.
Soils to receive same legal status as air, water in first EU-wide soil health law
The European Union's soil strategy has outlined plans for a soil health law by 2023 to bring soil on the same legal footing as air and water, and EU lawmakers have warned this must be a hard deadline.
LEAK: Commission’s soil strategy to unveil dedicated legislative proposal in 2023
The European soil strategy commits to unveil a dedicated legislative proposal to tackle soil degradation in a harmonised way - but not until 2023, according to a leaked draft of the strategy, seen by EURACTIV.
Agrifood Brief: Disin-gene-uous business?
Between petrol panic, driver shortages, and warnings that Christmas could be in jeopardy, there has been no lack of bad press tied to the UK’s departure from the EU this week.
French Senate calls for more ambitious policy to curb urban sprawl
As French senators prepare to examine the country's climate and resilience bill, members of the Senate's Economic Affairs Committee published a report on Wednesday (12 May), calling for a more ambitious policy to achieve a net-zero goal on land artificialisation. EURACTIV France reports.
A legal framework for soil protection is not in Commission’s pipeline
The European Commission on Wednesday (12 May) announced a set of measures to tackle soil pollution in the pipeline but without envisaging a dedicated and legally binding framework.
Agrifood Brief: Black gold
Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU.
Agrifood Brief: The apple of EU discord
In a recently published Parliament survey, agriculture, food and fisheries have emerged as a major area of disagreement between Brussels and the EU capitals.
EU should do more on agrodiversity, Commissioner warns
Diversifying food production is key to strengthening the resilience of European agriculture and creating realistic business models for farmers in the coming years, according to EU's agri-boss Janusz Wojciechowski.
New tool for assessing soil health could help link payments with ecosystem services
A UK farming technology company has teamed up with leading space industry engineers and soil biologists to create a new tool to accurately assess biodiversity and soil health on farms.
EU agency: Greening of the EU main farm policy not delivered yet
Policies aimed at integrating environment and climate concerns into Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy have not delivered, according to a report released by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Soil ‘completely underestimated’ in EU climate strategy
While climate change takes a toll on agriculture and land use contributes to warming the planet, soils still find little attention from policymakers in their climate strategies.
Third of Earth’s soil is acutely degraded due to agriculture
A third of the planet’s land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at the rate of 24 billion tonnes a year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that calls for a shift away from destructively intensive agriculture. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Organic farmers call for sustainability-driven CAP payments
The EU Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM EU) yesterday (19 January) sent a letter to EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan, calling for a “fundamentally new approach” to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Bütikofer: ‘Industrial policy must be sustainable’
A new industrial policy strategy for Europe needs to be sustainable German Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer says. New policy instruments such as a soil directive should be adopted, he argues.
Brussels to draw up ‘chemical map’ of EU land
The European Commission's in-house research body is currently analysing thousands of soil samples from across Europe to draw up a "chemical content map" of EU land.
Commission holds on to soil protection law
Amid resistance from EU ministers, Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik has defended an EU directive on soil by claiming that national policies are not delivering and land management increasingly affects cross-border issues like climate change, biodiversity and water pollution.
Commission forced to scale down soil law
Following years of negotiations, five EU member states still form a blocking minority on the European Commission's proposal for a directive on soil protection, leaving some to wonder whether the EU executive should reconsider its approach to addressing this environmental issue.
Europe and global food security [Archived]
As the world's population approaches ten billion, issues like climate change, growing scarcity of oil and availability of quality land and water are challenging the planet's capacity to produce enough food for everyone - a paradigm shift that could potentially pave the way for a new global 'food crunch'.
Commission urges solution to soil degradation
Officials from various environmental departments and organisations are calling for stalled environmental legislation on the proposed Soil Directive to be put into law by March 2009.
Commission hopes to revive blocked EU soil law
Soils are crucial for storing CO2 and must be protected as part of the fight against climate change, according to the Commission, which wants to breathe new life into a proposed framework directive on soil protection that was rejected by a small group of member states last December.