This compilation consists of ten selected SLM practices that contribute to improved soil fertility and enhance soil health for the sustainability of food and agricultural systems.

In India more than 54 million metric tons (MT) of municipal solid waste are generated every year of which 50% is organic. Without treatment, organic waste, containing valuable nutrients and carbon originating in agricultural fields, accumulates in urban environments. This loss of nutrients from rural agricultural landscapes contributes to its degradation. There is a potential to recycle urban organic waste into compost and other soil enhancing products to return nutrients and carbon back to the soils.

Almost 40% of India (147 million hectares) is affected by land degradation, and 3.7 million hectares suffer from depletion of soil organic matter and nutrients. The major drivers of land degradation are agricultural practices, improper irrigation, cultivation in vulnerable or low potential land, and overuse of agro-chemicals.

In India more than 54 million metric tons (MT) of municipal solid waste are generated every year of which 50% is organic. Without treatment, organic waste, containing valuable nutrients and carbon originating in agricultural fields, accumulates in urban environments. This loss of nutrients from rural agricultural landscapes contributes to its degradation. There is a potential to recycle urban organic waste into compost and other soil enhancing products to return nutrients and carbon back to the soils.

The Indo-German development cooperation project ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation of degraded soil for food security in India (ProSoil)” is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in partnership with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The project is part of a larger global programme under BMZ’s Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”. The project is implemented in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and works with local implementation and mainstreaming partners.

One of the initiatives under the project is establishing a business model for compost manufactured using organic waste matter from urban centres. This compost can then be employed for rural agricultural fields, thereby closing the urban-rural nutrient loop.

This detailed project report presents an urban compost business model from the district of Jalna in Maharashtra. Here, the project’s NGO partner Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) worked with the Krishiyug Farmer Producer Company (FPC) in establishing supply chains and sales of city compost.

Fourteen selected SLM practices under the ISFM+ project were documented by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and published on the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) global database for scaling out. By documenting and disseminating these ISFM technologies, this compilation aims to support the efforts of policymakers, practitioners, and communities working to safeguard Ethiopia’s soil health and agricultural productivity. It is our hope that this resource will contribute to informed decision-making, foster knowledge exchange, and ultimately help build a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector in Ethiopia.