6 Ways to Reduce Soil Pollution to Safeguard Agriculture

Unsustainable farming practices, industrial activities, and mining, untreated urban waste, and other non-environmental friendly practices have all been contributing to the increasing soil pollution and degrading agriculture practices. With an ever-growing population, soil pollution is a worldwide problem that degrades our soils, poisons the food we eat, the water we drink, and also the air we breathe in.

We need to find sustainable ways to reduce soil pollution so that the next generation will have natural produce free from any pesticides. Here, we have jotted down 6 ways for you:

• Go plant more trees: The acid rain and floods can have a huge impact on soil that it can wipe out healthy soil in the absence of trees which would otherwise help absorb and maintain these waters and the toxins that come along with them. Through reforestation and planting more trees and vegetation in areas that are at risk of soil erosion, soil pollution can be further interrupted and overall results in a healthy environment.
• Buy organic produce: Organic products purchase is one of the best and easiest ways to reduce pollution in our soil. Sustainable agricultural production practices have become essential for overturning the trend of soil degradation and safeguarding the current and future global food security. If a large number of people start buying organic produce the demand for non-organic food will decline, which means less reason and opportunity to use those fertilizers and pesticides that contribute majorly to land pollution.
• Say no to chemical fertilizer and pesticide use: According to reports, pesticide poisoning is one of the major reasons for premature deaths and sudden need of hospitalization among individuals. The extensive use of pesticides in agricultural production can weaken and destroy the community of microorganisms living in the soil, particularly when these chemicals are overused or misused. Current substitutes that promote sustainable agricultural practices include crop rotation, biological pest control, and polyculture.
• Reduce your waste footprints: Waste, such as plastic, non-biodegradable materials, and litter, can accumulate in fertile land, polluting and altering the chemical and biological properties of soil. Try to purchase materials with the least amount of packaging and that will always promote Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!
• Discover Soil Washing: It uses water to remove contaminants from soils by ‘scrubbing’ soil to remove and separate the portion of the soil that is most polluted. With the help of soil washing, the clean-up part of polluted soil can be done easily in place without having to excavate.
• Recycling and recovery of materials: This is a reasonable solution for reducing soil pollution effectively. Materials such as paper and some kinds of plastics are being recycled. This decreases the volume of refuse and helps in the conservation of natural resources manageably. For example, the recovery of 1 tonne of paper can save almost 17 trees.

Over to you:

We all have heard 3’Rs namely- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. If we could adapt to these R’s and apply them in our daily lives we could drastically improve the soil condition and safeguard our agriculture for better and safer produce.