ECHO farm manager Danny Blank says that the principles in EDN 96 “revolutionized the way I look at the land and understand the impact agriculture practices have on the overall health of soils.” The principles are summarized well in the title of a useful on-line FAO publication: “The Importance of Soil Organic Matter—Key to drought-resistant soil and sustained food production.” (ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/sb80e.pdf). We know the consequences of poor farming practices in terms of poor production and continued poverty. Now, armed with greater understanding of why such practices result in land degradation, we are better equipped to conform farming practices to those that increase soil organic matter and soil life. EDN 96-1. Good soil under crop residue soils and mucuna mulch, Honduras
Cite as:
ECHO Staff 2008. The Importance of Life in the Soil.. ECHO Development Notes no. 100
