The EU and China are collaborating on a digital toolkit that will help farmers assess the health of the soil in their own fields in a bid to boost regenerative agriculture.

Titled 'TUdi', the initiative aims to transform unsustainable management of soils in agricultural systems in the EU and China, by developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation.

The project is funded by the European Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, within the Horizon 2020 programme.

The key goal is to develop and promote soil-restoration strategies across three major agricultural systems in Europe, China, and New Zealand.

The project highlights that "one of the important initiatives in achieving this is the development of Decision Support Tools (DSTs), which are now available online".

The DSTs are designed to help farmers monitor and assess soil health at the field level.

By inputting data and uploading georeferenced photos, farmers can track changes in soil conditions over time.

Six DSTs have been developed, covering soil erosion; fertilisation; soil compaction; soil carbon; soil biology; and soil structure. 

In addition, a Socio-Economic Toolkit to Support Soil Restoration (SEST) has been created to assist farmers in making informed decisions. 

SEST offers economic analysis, enabling farmers to assess the financial impact of soil restoration strategies and advanced fertilisation practices, supporting more strategic decision-making.

All DSTs are integrated into the TUdi app, which can be downloaded on smartphones and accessed online.

The SEST tool is integrated into a separate application, ‘TUdiSEST’, which is accessible via its own online platform.

Demonstration videos and further information on all DSTs and the SEST tool can be found both on TUdi website, and its YouTube channel.