Lawrence Havanna

HOW IS SOIL
DEGRADATION AND
AGRICULTURRE
DESTROYING OUR EARTH?
How is it affecting our world?
A
Griculture is good, but the

degradation is
HISTORY
slowly

destroying our
Agriculture
world. Soil
developed 10,000
degradation is the
years ago. It
decline in soil quality,
began developing
caused by improper
Figure 1 shows a tractor grazing thee land Agriculture( 2010) many years back
use or
around 9000 BC all around the world
environmental things of the soil such as
and it has grown ever since. In the
the wind and storms. Agriculture is the
2000s agriculture improved
practice of farming, cultivation of soil for
tremendously. Plants have been used to
growing crops. Soil degradation is a
grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bio
serious environmental problem that is
plastics, and pharmaceuticals. A couple
slowly destroying the earth's soil all
of years ago most of the world's workers
around and agriculture is the main
were in agriculture. But as the time went
cause for it. Though, at the same time
on all of the agriculture that was done, it
agriculture does provide our crops for
has been destroying the earth's
the earths food.
soil. Half of the earth's topsoil has been

lost in the last 150 years. The land has

been lost at 30 to 35 times at the

historical rate.
 destroying all of our soil. The people
CURRENT STATE
who supports agriculture thinks that it

Today due to drought about 12 million forms the basis of food security and that

land spaces are lost due to soil it helps give everybody the essentials

degradation. This shows that soil they need. Which is true because

degradation is still a very big issue and agriculture gives us food, fiber and

will always biofuels. But

remain a big the more

environmental agriculture you

and as well as do, the more

a global issue. land is lost

which is
Figure 2 shows how much of the world is affected by soil degradation ( UNEP 2007)

the other

VIEWPOINTS viewpoint. Some people think that there

is no production potential in agriculture

There are many different viewpoints
and it's just going to keep destroying our
of this issue, some people think that
land. The farmer depend on healthy
agriculture really helps and provides for
land and if the land is no longer healthy
the world and others think about the
the farmers suffer and so would we.
degradation part and how it is
Each year about 10 million cropland are

lost. They think there is no potential on

agriculture
 farmers or agricultural workers weren't
MY VIEW POINT
going from land to land because there

Agriculture is causing huge land is destroyed. They should just care

environmental and health problems for the land they have so agriculture

around the world. When the work of would not cause land degradation and

agriculture fails, the workers or farmers wouldn't be a big problem for the

moves to new land to practice environment or our health.

agriculture and the old land that they left

turns bad from the degradation. Natural

Resources Management and each year

about 10 million cropland are lost they

also said that 74% of the poor are

directly affected by land degradation

globally This shows that agriculture

and land degradation is not only causing Figure 3 shows the dead soil cracking and not able to produce.(Erik
van Den Elson 2014)

an environmental problem but is also

Causing a health problem. Agriculture

and land degradation is really harming

people's food sources for the people

who get their food from land around the

world. The more land they lose the less

land they will be able to have to grow

their crops, this means that they are

Figure 4 shows very dead and degraded soil (Erik Van Den
losing food. This wouldn't happen if the Elson 2014)
SOLUTIONS

There are many solutions we can do

to help slower the rate of soil

degradation such as planting more trees

to prevent the flooding and stripping of

the topsoil because the wind and rain

can play a big effect on the soil. We can

also build more fences or plant bushes

Figure 5 shows plants starting to grow in the very dry soil
which can also reduce the strong winds (soilscapesolutions)

making the top soil being lost. Another

thing that we can do that ties along with

agriculture is that the farmers should

avoid stripping the land clean and bare

because it takes of the topsoil and the

topsoil has a lot of the nutrients the soil

need.

Figure 6 shows a little girl trying to improve the soil buy

planting in tin foil pans (2012)
References
Boukhari, S. (1999, Jan). Soils torment.

UNESCO Courier (United

Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization) 10-13.

Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com

Wilken, E. (1995, Assault of the earth.

World Watch, 20-27. Retrieved

from http://sks.sirs.com

Jones, T. (2006, the scoop on dirt. E

Magazine Vol.XVII, no.5, 26-39.

Retrieved

from http://sks.sirs.com

Duncan, A. (1996, why you should give

a rip about dirt. Oregon's

Agricultural Progress, 24-29.

Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com

Bun yard, P. (1996, Industrial

agriculture--driving climate
change? Ecologist, 290-
298. Retrieved from
http://sks.sirs.com