Soil is a natural resource that human life depends on as it helps to provide the majority of food consumed by humans. However, at least one-third of the world’s soil is degraded and cannot, therefore, meet basic human needs. In order to raise awareness about its importance and to help to regenerate soil and restore its health, every year World Soil Day is celebrated on the 5th December to not only remind us of the challenges related to soil conservation but also to present opportunities to join efforts to increase farming practices that are able to regenerate this valuable resource. While the types of soil vary among different regions and countries, some areas are less fortunate and have soil that has a lower nutrient content and weaker capacity to retain water.
In a conversation with DevelopmentAid, Ana Vovk, who holds a doctorate in soil geography, sheds light on how to make uncultivable soil fertile and suitable for food production in Slovenia while increasing an interest in this subject for younger generations through practice-driven education.
Restoring soil fertility and storing water
The 5th December was endorsed by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) as World Soil Day. The majority of human food (95%) comes from soil and yet 33% of soil around the globe has been degraded. The celebration of soil is an opportunity to attract attention to this priceless resource and this year the theme is “Soils: Where food begins”, specifically underlining the importance of healthy soils and healthy ecosystems as these are the source of energy, health, and quality of life.
Dr. Ana Vovk is a Professor of physical and regional geography and science education at the University of Maribor in Slovenia. For the past 12 years, she has worked to increase awareness about soil, encouraging students, pupils, and local communities to improve soil health. After finishing her doctorate in soil science in Vienna, she returned to Slovenia to start her own food production and education centre in Dole:
“Everyone told me that it was not possible to produce anything here because the soil is not good and there is no water in the soil. So, I had a very keen interest in finding new ways so that we can produce enough food under these unfavourable natural conditions, have drinking water and develop conditions for good life,” she recalls.
The unsuitability of Slovenian soil for agriculture was confirmed by the European Commission which seven years ago conducted a massive European study on soil and went to Dole to take soil samples. They concluded that the level of organic matter and nutrients was so low that it would not possible to grow food on it.
Dr. Vovk admitted that in natural conditions the type of soil in Dole was very poor and it did not retain water but she was determined to prove that with permaculture which involves a variety of soil conservation techniques, it would be possible to restore soil fertility and its water retaining capacity and, as a consequence, grow a wide range of crops. Thus, at the Centre for Self-Sufficiency and Eco-remediation in Dole, Dr. Vovk put in place measures to rebuild soil and make it cultivable again.
Dr. Vovk is able to regenerate soil by adding and connecting layers of sheep wool, textiles, and food biomass then adding quartz and compost. Using this mix and local natural materials changed the soil – it became softer and started to collect and retain water. Now the layer of soft soil in Dole is about 1.8 m and there are no problems in producing food. This is a very significant solution as it allows water to be stored in the soil for the entire year. Also, according to Dr. Vovk, one of the techniques that helps to keep water in the soil is to use straw, grass or miscanthus because these absorb a lot of water. They also provide valuable micronutrients such as calcium and magnesium so there is no need for additional support for the crops. The soil is never bare because it is always covered with green vegetation or straw or other materials which means the water remains in the soil. There are now 800 m2 of production area and growers never need to add water except to the beds in greenhouses that are unreachable by rainwater.
“The summer here is hot, +35 to +38º and crops lose a lot of water through evapotranspiration but this has no negative effect on production because the first layer of the soil is always covered. And as water is kept inside the soil, the roots of the plants go through the soil and use this water,” explains Dr. Vovk.
On this soil, Professor Vovk grows over 400 different species including green vegetables, medicinal plants, different trees, and berries which all ensure households have fresh, local, and naturally produced food, and the produce grown covers 80-90% of the food that a household needs.
Practical knowledge about soils and food
The goal of the centre is not only food production but also education which allows knowledge of natural farming and regenerative soil use to be passed on to the next generation. It also aims to develop new solutions to prepare producers for an uncertain future. The main approaches demonstrated and taught at the centre are agroecology and permaculture.
“Even though we have a lot of theoretical knowledge, scientific articles, and books, this is not really connected to the real lives of different groups and generations. The center serves as a bridge between academic and practical knowledge. Under permaculture, we understand not only production but also the social connection, economic views – it is more about the natural principles of agriculture. Here our principle is to observe how nature works and go in that direction,” explains Dr. Vovk.
As a Professor, Dr. Vovk is developing learning approaches in primary and higher education that attract youth to permaculture and agroecology, showing them how these allow the sustainable use of natural resources such as soil, water, energy, and biodiversity. She places a special accent on soil geography in education as food and nutrition security largely depend on healthy living soil. According to the Professor:
“If you start with the approach of natural agriculture rather than the theoretical perspective and approach, you only need to observe nature and go along with the principles, and then it is not a lot of physical work. All the crops grow by themselves – you do not add additional water, you do not need to work the soil, digging or anything of a kind. To start, it is necessary to have some knowledge but everyone who comes to the center immediately understands the principles and enjoys applying them.”
Dr. Vovk makes sure that her apprentices learn about interconnectedness in nature and ecosystems, where soil health and food production are tightly linked to biology, biodiversity, geography, environmental protection, and ultimately food autonomy. She has been developing practice-based learning modules where students can gain hands-on experience in applying agroecological practices to improve soil quality. She has also conducted a four-year study researching the attitudes of young people towards agroecology and permaculture and concluded that the interest among young people in natural farming is growing as the number of school children coming to the learning polygon has increased and continues to increase every year.
