From 14–16 October 2025, the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils (GFCs) from the World Economic Forumtook place in Dubai, UAE. The GFCs are the World’s foremost multistakeholder and interdisciplinary knowledge network dedicated to promoting innovative thinking to shape a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future. Each of the 37 Councils’ thematic insights are taken forward by the Forum’s ongoing initiatives, communities and meetings to ensure impact. The October meeting brought together over 500 global experts and 150 cybersecurity leaders to address the complex intersections of technology, resilience, and sustainability.

The GFC on Soils was established by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a strategic and timely response to the escalating global crisis of soil degradation. With over one-third of the world’s soils already degraded and desertification threatening food security, climate stability, and biodiversity, the council was formed to galvanize international action and innovation around soil health.

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.

Addis Ababa, October 21, 2025 (ENA) - The launch of the AfrioCAT network in Addis Ababa is expected to assist the fight against land degradation and food insecurity in the continent, AUDA-NEPAD Programme Officer for Climate Change said.

This was made public during an inaugural workshop convened in Addis Ababa today co-hosted by AUDA-NEPAD and the Water and Land Resource Centre of African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and other key partners, and the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT).

AfrioCAT will serve as the official WOCAT Regional Cluster for Africa, is expected to significantly boost regional efforts in Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).

Swansea, UK – 21 May 2025 – Bionema Group Ltd., a pioneering UK biocontrol technology company, has been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise – Innovation 2024, recognising its world-leading innovations in sustainable crop protection and soil regeneration.

Swansea, UK – 5 February 2025 – As the world faces mounting pressure to reduce synthetic fertiliser use amid climate and soil degradation crises, a groundbreaking £961,000 project led by Bionema Group, a UK-based biocontrol technology developer, is paving the way for a sustainable transformation in nutrient management. This project is funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) through the Farming Innovation Programme, under the Nutrient Management Competition. The programme is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

Soil health policies are stars for our soil, without whom our advancement towards global soil health would remain slower than the rate at which we are depleting our soils. The importance of soil health policies can be summarized into three pros: protect, probe and promote. 

Soil health is the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, and its impact extends far beyond the confines of the farm. As we enter the festive season, it's a fitting time to reflect on the invaluable gifts of soil health. These include policies, advocates, media influence, scientific expertise, and farmer dedication—all crucial in driving progress toward a healthier, more resilient agricultural ecosystem. Let’s celebrate these contributions and recognize their role in safeguarding our future.

Having acquired some basic understanding of soil health in Part 1 of the series, the Stars in Our Soil: Understanding Soil, Sussana Phiri spends this installment delving into the science behind soil testing, with examples and resources for those looking to start troubleshooting own farms.

Lankala Visweshwara Rao manages his 4-acre arabica coffee farm in Alluri Sitaramaraju district in Andhra Pradesh state in India. He has faced numerous challenges, including the dreaded white stem borer disease, a significant threat in the country’s coffee-growing regions, including Rao’s coffee farm.

Since 2023, Rao has used PxD’s Coffee Krishi Taranga service, a voice-based digital agricultural advisory service, which has provided him with insights and proactive measures to remove and dispose of infected plants in a way that will prevent the spread of larvae. Learn about the other features of the project!

CA4SH’s Webinar Series was held over three sessions in the lead-up to the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit to address key challenges currently constraining farmers to implement healthy soil practices. The first two sessions were held under the topics of bringing soil health into policy and financing healthy soil practices. This third session focused on the science and knowledge needed to generate actionable data for soil health monitoring and scaling up, informing and tracking soil health practices on the ground whilst addressing key barriers.

Biome Makers, a global agtech company, announces the release of its 2023 Impact Report, which details the company's significant contributions to regenerative agriculture and soil health over the past year. The report highlights Biome Makers’ commitment to sustainability and the innovative use of its BeCrop technology.

• Agreena registers two million hectares of European farmland on its pioneering soil carbon platform - an area the size of Slovenia

• More than 1,000 farmers across 17 countries have now joined AgreenaCarbon - transitioning from conventional farming to regenerative agriculture

• Agreena’s ability to scale soil carbon removals has been supported through the use of cutting-edge remote sensing technology coupled with machine learning

Bringing together stakeholders representing the private sector, NGOs, academia, governments and more, CA4SH contributed to three events at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF) between 4th and 5th September to discuss what scaling soil health looks like, and the vision for Africa’s soils we are working steadily towards.

“Women play a critical role in the agricultural sector, comprising 43% of the agricultural labor force globally and making significant contributions to household and national food security. Despite their essential role, they face several challenges that limit their ability to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and adapt to climate change, including access to information and finance.”

Watch the video from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Science and Innovation Forum 2022 - Interview with Scientists: Rattan Lal.