2015 was declared the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SOILS

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) was appointed as the driving force behind the International Year of Soils, chosen for the year 2015.

The specific objectives behind the year’s activities included raising awareness among civil society and key decision makers, educating the general public, supporting effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources, promoting investment in sustainable soil management activities, strengthening initiatives in connection with the UN’s development agendas and advocating for rapid capacity enhancement for soil information collection and monitoring.

Volterra is committed to promoting techniques and products that help increase soil quality. In fact a healthy soil is the basis of all of our projects. The prevention of soil erosion and decompactation, combined with sowing in ridges, crop rotation, adding mycorrhizae and other soil quality enhancers all help to bring back a living, healthy and productive soil. Soils with a high level of microbiological activity, oxygen and “sponginess” help to capture lots of carbon, support water infiltration during heavy rains, decrease erosion and most of all make the land more productive for the farmer. A previously published article on the virtues of a healthy soil can be found here. 

To find out more, visit the International Year of Soil's website.