A Soil Health Action Plan (SHAPE) for England will be published to restore the health of our soils, Lord Goldsmith announced in a speech in the House of Lords yesterday (Wednesday 8 September).
During a debate in the Report Stage of the Environment Bill, Lord Goldsmith confirmed that the plan will be a crucial part of our plan to halt the decline of species by 2030, as well as meeting our long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity.
Soil health is the key to delivering our targets on the environment and improving farm profitability. Well managed soils can lead to increased biodiversity, improved water quality and reduced carbon emissions.
The Soil Health Action Plan (SHAPE) will provide a framework of actions to improve and protect the health of our soils. A further announcement regarding the details will be made shortly and we plan to consult on the draft outline in Spring 2022.
A Defra spokesperson said:
The Soil Health Action Plan for England will be crucial in driving progress across Government to restore the health of our soils. It will also help our efforts to halt the decline of species by 2030 and meet our long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity.
“Further details of the plan will be published shortly.
Our new Sustainable Farming Incentive will eventually be open to every farmer in England and will reward farmers for moving towards more sustainable soil and grassland management. The new system will replace unfair and ineffective Direct Payments with a fairer scheme, boosting productivity and rewarding environmental improvements.
1 comment
Comment by Simon Broddle posted on
I've worked in agriculture all my life and now at 62 I realise that nobody really wants to address soil issues.
I've argued about increasing soil organic matter levels since I was a child listening to my grandfather and its easy to do. Problem is, in truth nobody wants to do it.
In the post war period soil organic matter levels was very high and we have chemically reduced it. Nothing to do with cultivations, it's all chemical. We've applied chemicals which were advertised at "significantly reducing soil OM levels" so what do we expect.
I may appear cynical but if we're really honest, nobody really cares, what matters is money and influence. Mind you, I do like your lovely acronym!