Soil Health

Our soil is home to quarter of the world’s biodiversity, and healthy soil is vital for food production and therefore human life – 95% of the food we eat comes from our soil. A critical component of healthy soil are the living organisms inside it. There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth.

The world’s soil is being lost through a variety of different and harmful practices. Pesticides from agriculture cause widespread damage to the tiny creatures that keep our soil healthy and underpin all human life on earth. Studies have shown that 71% of organisms tested showed negative effects from pesticide exposure.  It takes thousands of years to regenerate soil, and without urgent action to stop the damage to our soils – we risk a collapse in soil biodiversity. Testing in the European Union is more comprehensive than elsewhere in the world, but we can still do more.

Green Party Minister Pippa Hackett announced a €10m national soil sampling programme in Budget 2021. This is a farm level soil sampling and analysis initiative which will provide farmers and their advisors with comprehensive details about the soil health and soil condition on their farms. These results can be used to target soil management and farming practices to achieve economic and environmental sustainability on their farms. you can learn more about the soil in your area with the Irish Soil Information System, a map and an open access database which has been brought together using traditional and cutting-edge technologies.