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Could basalt ‘carpets’ help build healthy soils?
CategoriesSustainable News

Could basalt ‘carpets’ help build healthy soils?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Farmers around the world are under pressure to maintain steady crop yields while also reducing their carbon footprints. Hoping to tackle the interrelated issues of climate change and food security, startup Carbonaught believes it has developed a solution – using basalt.

Carbonaught uses standard farming machinery to lay down large basalt ‘carpets’ in farming fields. Naturally occurring carbon dioxide and water in the air combine to form a weak acid that breaks down the basalt. This releases essential minerals and forms a nutrient-rich clay that builds new soil layers and aids in plant growth. At the same time, minerals added to the basalt by Carbonaught bind with the CO2 to form new rocks, locking the CO2 away.

The company’s platform enables farmers to generate and monitor their own weathering projects at scale. Carbonaught believes that by 2030, its platform will remove one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually, while restoring degraded soils to enhance global food supply.

The company is still in the early stages, although it has secured several funded carbon removal pilot projects and received pre-seed funding from early-stage investment company Antler Australia. Carbonaught also placed 24th out of over 1,400 global teams that competed in Elon Musk’s 2022 XPrize Carbon Removal Challenge.

A growing number of innovations are aimed at replacing synthetic fertilisers – often derived from petroleum products – with organic alternatives. Springwise has recently spotted the use of seaweed as a bio-stimulant, as well as the creation of bespoke bio-inoculants.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Improving the climate resilience of food production with better soils
CategoriesSustainable News

Improving the climate resilience of food production with better soils

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that about one-third of the world’s soils are already degraded. This threatens global agricultural production and food security. But one company is aiming to improve soil quality. 

Initially founded in 2020 by Azadeh Farajpour Javazmi with the support of the European Union (EU) parliament, the BetterSoil movement launches national and international projects to improve the quality of soils for improved climate resilience and sustainable food production. The company aims to promote sustainable agriculture both in practice and the political environment, by mobilising decision-makers at the level of the European Parliament. 

The initiative’s goal is to close the gap between theory and practice in terms of knowledge about soils and their quality in sustainable agriculture. BetterSoil connects science and research with the knowledge of farmers around the world to understand how to best improve soil fertility and build up soil humus – a nutrient-rich substance made from decomposed plant and animal matter.

Video source BetterSoil

Working closely with scientific advisors, BetterSoil develops tailored soil recipes for different regions, since each country has its own specific climate, crops, and needs. All soils are created with the BetterSoil science-derived principles in mind: appropriate soil management and agroforestry, and the use of compost and biochar. 

BetterSoil also offers education on sustainable development in order to raise public awareness, motivating people to rethink how they use resources and contribute to sustainable development. The company addresses individuals, companies, teams, and schools – it is also launching a BetterSoil Inhouse Academy. 

Healthy soil is integral to the world and its inhabitants, and improving and maintaining soil quality is vital for sustainable and reliable food production. Springwise has also spotted pre and probiotics that improve soil health and plant patches that monitor crop stress.

Written By: Anam Alam

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Restoring the strength of soils using natural elements
CategoriesSustainable News

Restoring the strength of soils using natural elements

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: After decades of the intensification of farming, and the ensuing harm it has caused to environments, growers and policy makers are beginning to more seriously consider regenerative farming as the means of achieving a carbon-neutral future. Regenerative agriculture focuses on soil health and a circular agricultural economy, where resources are used in harmony with the natural environment. And, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that farming regeneratively on 40 per cent of the world’s cropland would save around 600 million tonnes of emissions. 

The challenge is the slow pace of change. Regenerative agriculture must scale more quickly in order to cover 40 per cent of global cropland by 2030. Changing soil health can take years, so French agrobiotechnology company Gaïago has created a suite of products designed to help growers make faster improvements to their land. 

Using organic elements that plants already use, such as hydrogen, proteins, and fungi, Gaïago’s products encourage the fertility of the soil and therefore the growing environment of crops. Nutrigeo is a soil prebiotic that stimulates the growth of humidifying fungi. Two different probiotics provide additional nitrogen to the roots, and a foliar prebiotic, Stimulus, supports plants in resisting environmental stressors.  

And for the plants themselves, Gaïago created Vitam’in, a prebiotic for seeds that boosts general vigour at germination to help maximise full genetic growth. Improvements in the fertility of soil can be seen in as little as six months, and when integrated into a regenerative style of farming, will have long term environmental health and biodiversity benefits.  

Other ways in which Springwise is spotting agriculture creating more healthful growing environments include plant patches that monitor stress and eco-friendly insect treatments that do not harm pollinators.

Written By: Keely Khoury

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