Framing: World 'will run out of soil within 60 years'

Although Scotland has a better record than most countries, a leading soil scientist has expressed worries over the continued loss of arable land throughout the world.

According to Professor Keith Goulding, president of the British Society of Soil Science, an estimated 75 billion tonnes of soil comprising ten million hectares of potentially usable arable land is being degraded or lost every year because of erosion and bad land management.

If the loss of soil continues at the present rate, then there will be no fertile soil in the world in 60 years' time, he predicted, pointing out that some countries have much poorer records than others, with the rate of loss of land in China being three times the European figure.

Within the UK, he was supportive of the soil protection policy in Scotland, which compared well with the position south of the Border where there had been talk of such a policy but it had not happened.

The big worry for soil scientists is that this loss of land is occurring at the same time as there is increased pressure for food production, with predictions of a further 2.5 billion mouths to feed by 2050.

"To sustain a growing population there will require to be a 40 per cent increase in food production.

"Some 90 per cent of the total food production will require to be grown on the fertile soils that irregularly cover some 11 per cent of the global land surface," said Goulding.