Stories of Change to capture innovation journeys and invisible transformative changes

The DeSIRA initiative is a portfolio of 80 research and innovation (R&I) projects run in over 65 countries across three continents between 2019 and 2026, supported by a European Union contribution of €340 million. DeSIRA aims to enhance the contribution of R&I in addressing complex issues relating to sustainability transitions and agrifood system (AFS) transformation, towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in low- and middle-income countries.

May 20–22, 2025 - The Conference "Partners for Change – SOILutions for a Food Secure, Resilient, and Sustainable Future" in Berlin was more than a closing celebration; it was a call to action and a moment of convergence. Over 25 countries came together to chart a bold new course for global soil health. Celebrating a decade of impact, the event called for political leadership, farmer-led solutions, and coordinated action to embed soil health at the heart of sustainable food systems and climate resilience.

The international soil conference ‘Partners for Change - SOILutions for a Food Secure, Resilient, and Sustainable Future’ brought together almost 150 different stakeholders in Berlin from 20 to 22 May. Its aim: to take stock of existing conservation programmes and pave the way for the future.

Soil health is the foundation of agriculture and therefore a crucial prerequisite for feeding humanity. Minhaj Ameen from the Agroecology Fund on how healthy soils can be achieved.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) is rooted in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Since our official launch in 2021, CA4SH has amassed a membership of over 200 multistakeholder organizations and collaborated with countless partners.

This year, the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNCCD was focused on a people-centred approach to accelerating action on land and drought resilience, themed Our Land. Our Future.

Since healthy soil is essential to land and drought resilience, and provides co-benefits that link with all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the CA4SH network came together for a record engagement at COP16 to advocate for scaling global soil health.

The global project ProSoil of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit supports new methods to produce organic fertiliser and new approaches in switching to better and more sustainable cultivating practices in India as well as East and South Africa.

The Ukraine war has brought major disruptions to food and agricultural input supply chains around the globe. The entailing shortages of staple crops, fuel and mineral fertiliser have a direct negative impact on food security in Kenya. This has exacerbated the impact of parallel and previous crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, droughts and locust invasions, which, all together, have undermined poverty reduction.

Numerous techniques, practices and concepts for soil protection and rehabilitation are being tried and tested globally. Using the project “Soil protection and rehabilitation for food security” as an example, our authors demonstrate what counts in enabling such approaches to unfold impact at scale.

In India, the Green Revolution lifted millions of people out of poverty, yet the large-scale use of chemical fertilisers left the country’s soils severely depleted. ProSoil shows how Indian farmers join traditional and innovative practices to not only restore their soils but also mitigate climate change.

Waste management and soil degradation are two of India’s most pressing environmental concerns. The Indian state of Maharashtra, together with two GIZ projects, tackles both through one market mechanism – ‘city compost’. Urban municipal waste is composted and used as organic fertiliser in agriculture. This relieves the cities’ waste management and enhances rural soils and in turn productivity.