World's soils deteriorating while solutions go unused: UN

PARIS: More than half of the world's soils are in poor condition, threatening global food supplies and biodiversity, while proven measures to improve soil health are not being implemented, said a UN report released on Thursday."Globally, we must shift from a mindset of soil exploitation to one of soil stewardship," the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned.Soils "support 95 per cent of our food production, host 59 per cent of global biodiversity, and serve as the planet's second-largest carbon sink after the oceans," said the report's authors.Yet "soil degradation continues to accelerate at an alarming rate". The report found that in 52.5 per cent of regions and subregions soil management was poor or very poor. In a third, it was fair, while in only 14 per cent was it good or