August 2026

​​​Soil Publications

With regenerative agriculture increasingly promoted by large corporations within their value chains, what are the impacts on farmers? This interesting paper finds that regenerative agriculture programs led by food and beverage companies often reallocates risk to producers while offering minimal governance inclusion. Programs are delivered as fixed products, compressing long-term ecological change into short-term metrics. Incentives are opaque, poorly timed and decoupled from environmental or economic realities. Although corporate actors recognize these challenges, misaligned incentives and ESG pressures constrain program adaptability. Farmers, meanwhile, face compliance burdens without adequate support or influence over program terms.

This interesting article sheds light on the regenerative agriculture as a social movement in the US and its efforts to depict soil regeneration as a “common ground” cause, urgent enough to transcend political divides.

When is land seen as a degenerative force in relations with humans? This anthropological paper based on research in Kenya shows that Cor the Luo of western Kenya, land can degenerate human vitalities. The degeneration occurs through an agentive potency activated through eco-immoralities occasioned by human and nonhuman entities. The article contributes to the anthropology of elemental thinking by revealing the land's potency, which enables it to act on its own right and affect life.

Lately, research and policy have largely focused on methods to quantify and assess soil health. However, this paper argues that evidence from India’s Soil Health Card scheme shows that quantification alone is insufficient and could dampen momentum for structural reforms in the agri-food system. Rather, beyond measurement, policymakers should prioritize advancing plural epistemic approaches to knowledge production, participatory models for knowledge dissemination, and structural reforms in the agri-food system that address issues around land tenure and subsidies.

What should be the future of soil science education?

Soil Webinar

If you are interested in soil governance, this recent webinar by project InBestSoil (Monetary Valuation of Soil Ecosystem Services and Creation of Initiatives to Invest in Soil Health: Setting a Framework for the Inclusion of Soil Health in Business and in the Policy Making Process) may be of interest. It examined how policy, governance and innovative business models can accelerate the transition towards healthy soils. Bringing together experts from European institutions and research projects, the discussion focused on the implementation of the EU Soil Monitoring Law, incentives for sustainable soil management, financing mechanisms, and governance approaches that support the long-term adoption of soil-friendly practices across agricultural, forestry and urban landscapes.

Soil Projects

The 4/1000 initiative has opened its 8th Call for the Formative Assessment of Soil Projects (FASP). FASP offers organizations and project developers the opportunity to receive independent scientific feedback from the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) of the "4 per 1000" Initiative. This scientific review strengthens projects that contribute to soil health and soil organic carbon sequestration, and helps maximize their impact. Positively assessed projects also benefit from increased visibility through the "4 per 1000" Initiative: those project summaries and contacts are shared on our social media, and could be presented in events organised or co-organised by the “4 per 1000” Initiative. Positively assessed projects will also receive a letter of support. The call will be open until September 20.