Food for our Children 12 March 2014, Seminar ‘Action Plan for the future of Organic Production in the European Union’ EU committee of the regions. Wijnand Sukkel Wageningen University, Applied Plant Research.

Global soil degradation – GLASOD (FAO 2000)

Global and local food security Soil degradation + Climate change + Biodiversity decline = A cocktail for disasters!

Role of agriculture  Most important driver of soil degradation  Major driver of biodiversity loss  Approx. 25% of global greenhousegas emissions  Decreasing adaptation capacity to climate change Changes are often slow and un-noticed

Effects of organic agriculture?  Better soil quality  More biodiversity (per ha)  Less ghg emissions (per ha)  Higher resilience But  In EU lower yields (25%) and higher production costs

BIO Trends in yields (LTE Vredepeel) GI-high Yield BIO increasing Low o.m. supply decreasing BIO +20% GI-low 10% Index yields average over all crops in the rotation

Innovation in soil management  Controlled traffic  Smaller is better  Reduced tillage  Continues soil cover  Rotation with grass clover

Thank you very much for your attention!