Managing Soils for Food Security in Central and South Asia

Food insecurity in densely populated South Asia remains a major issue despite the success of the Green Revolution, and the problem also exists even in the sparsely populated Central Asia. Growing population, changing climate, degrading soils, increasingly vulnerable ecoregions, and worsening political stability are among numerous contributors to food insecurity in Central and South Asia. There exists a strong “soil degradation – global warming – food insecurity nexus” which must be addressed through translation of proven agronomic and pedologic science into action by prudent governance and political will power. Prominent processes of soil degradation include decline of soil structure along with crusting and compaction, accelerated erosion by water and wind, excessive withdrawal of water, along with eutrophication and contamination, depletion of soil organic matter content, pollution of air, mining of plant nutrients by extractive practices, rapid salinization and acidification of soil, and growing risks of waterlogging because of flood irrigation, etc. Global warming is adversely affecting the agronomic yield and taking a collective action at a regional level through cooperation among all countries, is critical to addressing the serious issue of food and nutritional insecurity that cuts across political, ethnic, and national boundaries. Risks of stagnating and declining agronomic productivity, along with aggravating soil degradation because of changing climate and inappropriate soil/crop/water management, is an especially urgent issue in densely populated South Asia that cannot be ignored. Food wastes, 30 to 40% of grains and even more for fruits and vegetables, are crime against nature and humanity and must be urgently addressed. It would be prudent and nature-friendly to adopt policies which discourage the in-field burning of crop residues, scalping of topsoil for brick making, using flood-based irrigation, puddling of soil followed by inundation of rice paddies in arid and semi-arid regions and broadcasting of fertilizers. Subsidies, such as those for irrigation and nitrogen fertilizers, must be changed into payments for ecosystem services provisioned through adoption of recommended management practices. Thus, stronger investment in agriculture and transformational changes in policies are needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.