Soil Degradation Is Undermining Food Security In The Caribbean

Curbing soil degradation is critical to the food security and ecological sustainability of the Caribbean— yet unsustainable land management practices, coupled with the pressures of climate change continue to impact soil health and threaten to rob the region of its prospects for a food secure future. Indeed, 14% of the two billion hectares of degraded land in the world can be found in the Caribbean region.

Regionally, unsustainable agricultural practices, which include tilling, deep root removal, slash and burn and indiscriminate use of harmful chemicals, have contributed to the degradation and depletion of 75% of natural carbon stocks and biodiversity from the region’s agricultural soils.

Given their strategic importance to economic growth, environmental health, food security and human development, land practices that regenerate and promote soil health should be non-negotiable.