The first sentence of the European Soil Charter reads as follows: "Soil is one of the most appreciated goods of humanity. Vegetables, animals, and people live on the surface of the Earth." The fourth urges farmers and foresters to apply methods that preserve soil quality and the twelfth sentence urges the government and authorities to promote rational planning and management of soil resources.
However, are these goals being met? The last report published by Ecologists in Action evaluates the situation of the agro-ecological projects in Spain, i.e. the projects that seek to manage agricultural systems respecting the environment. According to the report: "The Spanish agro-ecological projects' sustainability passes with flying colors, but the institutional support doesn't."
The projects studied in the report, called the 'Systematization of productive agro-ecological experiences', have an average life of 3 and 6 years, which is very short, and are marked by self-management. They usually also have negative economic balances.
Another difficulty faced by the sector is access to land or inputs (such as seeds, land, slaughterhouses, etc.), because there are no local and rural development policies in this regard, even though the rural area is half empty. As such, according to Ecologists in Action, there is a lack of state coordination to position the sector.
Source: 20minutos.es