Whilst 2016 has officially been declared the International Year of Pulses by the United Nations General Assembly, it must not be forgotten that 2015 was declared the International Year of Soils to to increase awareness and understanding on the importance of soils in developing sustainable food production, food and nutrition security and essential ecosystem functions.
The United Nations have recently hosted the very first International Day of Soils, a continuation of the year-long celebrations.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) is keen to emphasize that there are close links that should be maintained between these two celebratory events. It takes into account the symbiosis between soil and pulses for contributing to food security and nutrition, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Following an UNFAO seminar — entitled “Soils and pulses: symbiosis for life. A contribution to the 2030 Agenda” – the organization has developed a book of the same name to illustrate to key decision makers and practitioners:
- How good practices may be put in place to support ending hunger and malnutrition (which are both integral to the SDGs)
- How the relationship between pulses and soils can be used to explore solutions to adapting climate change
- How the goal of halting land degradation and achieving overall global sustainable development might be achieved with better understanding of the symbiosis between soils and pulses.
This excellent resource offers key scientific facts and technical recommendations regarding the symbiosis between soils and pulses.
You can find the full book (published by the UNFAO) in pdf format by clicking here.