{
  "id": 3743976,
  "title": "More than half the world’s soils are in poor shape, and it’s threatening our food supply, UN warns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/more-than-half-the-worlds-soils-are-in-poor-shape-and-its-threatening",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2026/08/27/more-than-half-the-worlds-soils-are-in-poor-shape-and-its-threatening-our-food-supply-un-warns/232841"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "PARIS, August 27 — A recent United Nations report has revealed that more than half of the world's soils are in poor condition, posing a significant threat to global food supplies and biodiversity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN warns that current soil management practices are inadequate, with urgent action needed to shift from soil exploitation to soil stewardship. Soils support 95% of our food production, host 59% of global biodiversity, and serve as the planet's second-largest carbon sink after the oceans. However, soil degradation continues to accelerate at an alarming rate, with 52.5% of regions and subregions experiencing poor or very poor soil management. The FAO's second major report, following an initial study in 2015, found that while soil health had previously been assessed as fair, poor, or very poor, the world's population has grown by 800 million people, and 80 million hectares of land, nearly the combined area of France and Germany, have been converted to major crop production. The greatest threat to soil health is erosion, caused by unsustainable practices. Other threats include loss of organic matter, nutrient mismanagement, depleted soil biodiversity, salt build-up, pollution, and urban expansion. Climate change is further exacerbating these problems, while soil degradation itself contributes to climate change. Despite knowing the techniques for protecting and restoring soils, their widespread implementation remains inadequate, with only 10% of assessed areas improving and 58% deteriorating. The FAO suggests reducing or abandoning tillage, planting cover crops, and adopting agroforestry practices as key strategies. However, they attribute the lack of implementation to limited access to resources, high upfront costs, and the need for financial incentives, localized data, and indigenous knowledge. The report was released as diplomats and experts gathered for the COP17 summit on desertification in Mongolia, hoping to achieve a global agreement on combating drought.",
  "summary": "PARIS, Aug 27 — More than half of the world’s soils are in poor condition, threatening global food supplies...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}