Soil Conservation in the 21st Century: Why we need Smart Intensification

While the implementation of soil conservation depends on a multitude of factors, it is also clear that rapid change in agricultural systems only happens when a clear economic incentive is present. This fact, as well as the fact that agriculture will change fundamentally in the Global South over the next decades, need to be accounted for when developing a vision on how we may achieve effective soil conservation in the Global South. In this paper we argue that smart intensification is a necessary component of such strategy. Smart intensification will not only allow to make soil conservation more economical, but will also allow to make significant gains in term of soil organic carbon storage, water efficiency and biodiversity, while at the same time lowering the overall erosion risk. While smart intensification as such will not lead to adequate soil conservation, it will facilitate it and, at the same time, allow to offer the farmers of the Global South a viable future.