Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue took part in the Agricultural Ministers Conference as part of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture last week, in which soil health was one of the main topics of discussion.

The forum was a week-long annual conference in international agricultural and food policies. It is hosted in Berlin, Germany, but participants tuned in virtually this year.

The theme of this year's event was sustainable land use, with a focus on food security and soil.

During the conference, delegates from over 70 agricultural ministries and departments, as well as international organisations, agreed a jointly-adopted communiqué relating to soil protection.

"I am delighted to have been able to participate in this conference with ministerial colleagues across the world. Soil health is essential for our future. For Ireland’s agricultural sector, the value of nutrient cycling by soil organisms alone is estimated to be worth €1 billion a year," Minister McConalogue said.

"Working together to protect the health of our soils will result in benefits to global ecosystem health," the minister added.

"Gathering information about our soils will provide opportunities for environmental and climate balance. It will form the foundation for agricultural systems to achieve both economic and environmental sustainability," Minister McConalogue argued.

Last week, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) called for the reversal of soil degradation in response to the meeting.

The director-general of the FAO, Qu Dongyu, spoke at the meeting of agriculture ministers.

He commented: "Reversing soil degradation is vital if we want to feed a growing global population, protect biodiversity and help address the planet’s climate crisis."

95% of food produced globally depends on soil. However, soil quality is put under increased pressure, according to the FAO.