TUdi Article: Farmers' perception of soil health: The use of quality data and its implication for farm management

TUdi’s article “Farmers’ perception of soil health: The use of quality data and its implication for farm management” highlights the importance of engaging not only the scientific community but also different stakeholders in assessing the degree of soil degradation and mitigation strategies for meeting national and international goals. 

Preventing and reversing soil degradation is essential to maintaining the ecosystem services provided by soils and guaranteeing food security. The article delves into a semi-structured questionnaire that was distributed across countries participating in the TUdi project. 

To distribute the questionnaires effectively farmers’ associations and educational institutions were used as intermediaries. 456 responses to the questionnaire showed that farm country, size, type of agriculture, and educational level of farm managers were significantly associated with the farmers' perception of soil degradation issues. The size of the farm and the types of agriculture practised were also linked to the implementation of a nutrient management plan. The implications of these findings for soil conservation strategies are discussed. Additionally, the potential of projects such as TUdi for creating collaboration networks to drive the widespread adoption of technologies by farmers to reverse the degradation of agricultural soils is highlighted.