Soil Security: A Framework to Account for People's Demand of Soil to Provide Food Security.

There is some suggestion that the projected growth in the world’s population may be greater than the soil’s capacity to produce food in a sustainable way. In fact, some have suggested that there is need to increase production by about 50% over the next four decades while still using the same area of land under production as is now, and do this with reduced inputs and minimizing environmental impact. Currently there are large areas of land where soil deterioration has resulted in soil with poor condition compared to their natural state, but there are also examples of where management has resulted in an improvement in the soil condition. Soil security is concerned with maintaining and improving the world’s soil resource to produce food, fibre and freshwater, maintain the biodiversity, and maintain ecosystem services. There are five dimensions that frame soil security. The dimensions of ‘capability’ and ‘condition’ are concerned with the biophysical challenges, by measuring what can a soil do and how soil is affected by its use and management. The socio-economic challenges faced by the soil and food security nexus are framed by the need to place a value on the soil so the soil’s capital can be estimate, and how this is affected by people’s connection with the soil, as well as the need for good policy to secure soil against further degradation. Sustainable intensification begs the question of to what extent soil capability and condition can be enhanced while maintaining ecosystem capital. Does sustainable intensification also demand increased soil social connectivity?