Question Period Note: SOIL HEALTH

Q1 - What is the Government of Canada doing to protect soil health?

R.1 - Soil conservation and health are part of AAFC’s core priorities. They build on a long history of conducting research to further our understanding and to transfer knowledge relating to soil and climate to producers.

AAFC scientists develop innovative practices that help the sector build resilience in soils, reduce erosion, increase soil organic matter, and soil carbon. These all work to help the agriculture sector offset Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – while improving crop productivity in the process. AAFC undertakes a number of activities in collaboration with provinces and territories and various industry stakeholders to support the adoption of beneficial management practices that improve soil health. These practices improve the productivity, efficiency, profitability and competitiveness of Canadian farms.

AAFC is continuing to explore options to enhance soil health and are collaborating with the Soil Conservation Council of Canada to host engagement sessions with sector partners to gather input to inform the development of a National Soil Health Strategy.

The Government of Canada is working with international partners to advance the research, development, and adoption of technologies and practices that build climate resilient food systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester carbon in healthy soils. Canada is a party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the sole legally binding international agreement linking the environment with the development and promotion of healthy soils. Our active participation in this space demonstrates a commitment to world action to slow land degradation and desertification and to mitigate the effects of drought. In addition, Canada is a member of the Global Soil Partnership, a forum established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to facilitate and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and technologies for the sustainable management of soil resources.

Since 2021, the Government of Canada has invested over $1.5B into the Canadian agriculture sector for agri-environmental programming. This includes programs that support carbon sequestration and soil health.
In 2022, AAFC released a Strategic Plan for Science, which emphasizes mission-driven science to establish clearly defined outcomes and inject urgency into the development of solutions for grand challenges. Mission-driven science will promote a variety of scientific approaches and a multidisciplinary approach to ensure a sustainable, resilient, and profitable agriculture and agri- food sector by 2050.
The Missions are as follows:
• Mitigating and adapting to climate change
• Increasing the resiliency of agro-ecosystems
• Advancing the circular economy by developing value-added opportunities
• Accelerating the digital transformation of agriculture and agri-food
Specifically, the agroecosystem resilience mission enables outcomes like enhanced and protected soil and water resources, cementing soil health as a research priority for the department.
The Government of Canada is also developing a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy (SAS) to establish a long-term vision for agri-environmental issues, including climate change adaptation and resilience, climate change mitigation, water, biodiversity, and soil health. Consultations for the Strategy launched in December 2022 and ran until March 2023. Following consultations, the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy: What We Heard Report was released in December 2023. The Strategy is expected to be released in 2024.
AAFC is collaborating with the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, a national, non-government, independent organization, to host engagement sessions until March 2024 with sector partners to gather input to inform the development of a National Soil Health Strategy.
In June 2024, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released a new report titled “Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health.” The report is the result of an 18-month study by the committee that heard from approximately 150 witnesses including many key agriculture sector stakeholders. It provides an overview of the critical role of soil in mitigating climate change, contributing to biodiversity and putting food on tables. The report makes 25 recommendations to the federal government to work with the Canadian agriculture sector, as well as municipal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments, to tackle soil degradation and preservation.

• Soil conservation and health have always been core priorities for the Government, building on a long history of conducting world-class research and delivering programs for our producers.

• Our scientists develop innovative practices that help build resilience in soils, reduce erosion, and help the agriculture sector offset Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions while improving crop productivity.

• Since 2021, the Government has announced $1.5 billion in initiatives for the agriculture sector that will incentivize producers to adopt practices and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in soils, and improve soil health.

• We are also developing a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy which will provide a long-term approach to ensuring Canada’s agriculture lands are fertile and productive for generations to come.