Farmers are the backbone of the global food system, but intensified agriculture to meet growing demands has led to significant soil degradation. Over 60% of EU soils are now deemed unhealthy, according to the European Commission.
Regenerative agriculture offers a solution by restoring soil health, improving biodiversity, and protecting climate and water resources, all while maintaining productivity. However, farmers need support to transition to these practices, including access to resources, financial incentives, tools to monitor soil health, and policies that prioritise sustainability.
The Horizon Europe-funded TUdi project unites 15 academic institutions and SMEs to develop and promote soil-restoring strategies across three major agricultural systems in Europe, China, and New Zealand. By integrating diverse partners and regions, TUdi aims to advance sustainable practices that restore soil health globally.
Within the scope of the project, nine multilingual leaflets have been developed so far to provide information and share findings on several topics:
Improving soil structure to retain more soil moisture
Gully control
Nutrient loss by water movement, runoff and leaching
Fertilisation management
Technical measures for soil erosion control
Soil protection and ecosystem services by hedgerows
Erosion Control in potato production with in-furrow micro-dams and cover crops
Detection of a higher form of erosion by remote sensing data
Organic fertilisation using animal manures
The leaflets provide guidance on managing soil health within the scope of the listed topics. They cover various aspects of soil management, such as assessing soil structure stability, detecting erosion (including rills and gullies), and managing nutrient loss through water movement (runoff and leaching). As part of the TUdi project, an app has been developed to support farmers in these areas, offering tools for soil structure, erosion, and fertilisation management. Each leaflet outlines its focus area, identifies the associated problems, and explains how the TUdi app can assist in addressing them. The leaflets also include a detailed description of protective measures, the pros and cons of various techniques, and a section on their effects, results, and case studies.
Еach leaflet is now officially available in eight languages (English, German, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Czech), and can be found on TUdi’s website as well as on EU-FarmBook - a Horizon Europe project that has developed an online platform for the gathering and sharing of practical agricultural and forestry knowledge. The Chinese translations, however, are only available on the project website.
Stay tuned, as the project is expecting three more leaflets to be released soon!
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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101000224, TUdi (Transforming Unsustainable management of soils in key agricultural systems in EU and China. Developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation).
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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17-Mar-2025