Worldwide, 60% of soil is degraded. Yet soil is vital to our survival, and its degradation raises the question of our food security, and our ability to produce sustainably. But what is a healthy soil? To find out, we spoke to Adrienne de Malleray, co-founder of Genesis.
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What is Genesis?
Genesis is a provider of proof of land use impact for industry. We are interested in the use of soils, particularly in the context of their artificialization, but also in agriculture or forestry. Genesis provides field evidence of the impact of human activity on soils, and determines whether a soil is healthy or not, and why. We analyze the soil against a scientific benchmark and study whether the soil is capable of fulfilling its functions.
Soil has often been the forgotten part of the environment. We talk about air and water pollution, but we tend to forget about the soil. I like to remind people that we're earthlings, we live on the land, we eat, we dress, we live on the soil, it's not just a support. Soil also has an environmental function, as it stores carbon. It plays a vital role in the fight against global warming. It's also THE place where biodiversity thrives: 25% of known biodiversity is in the soil! It also has hydric functions: in times of drought or flood, a soil in poor health can no longer respond to these external stresses by using water. Healthy soil resists drought, retaining floods and capturing and storing surplus water. On compacted, unhealthy soil, water does not penetrate, hydrate the soil, replenish the water table or even cause landslides and erosion...
What's your mission at Hectar?
At Hectar, we're working on a pilot floriculture workshop with Parfums Christian Dior. We are objectivizing the impact of inserting strips of flowers into field crops, and studying the extent to which this improves soil functioning.
Soil plays a key role in our diet and in climate change, but we don't talk much about it: why?
Yes, the advent of chemistry almost made us forget about soil. It was very powerful for several decades, and we thought we could do anything! But today, chemistry can no longer make the whole system work, and it has very serious consequences, whether in terms of pollution, the disappearance of species... The miracle recipe no longer works, because the soil is not just a support, and that's something we've finally understood. Of course, there were precursors like the Burgundians, who were the first to sound the alarm and say that the soil was fundamental, but the discussion on soils and their biological state was late in coming. When we launched Genesis 5 years ago, our interlocutors didn't understand what soil health was, and even questioned the fact that a soil could be unhealthy. But fortunately, the situation is evolving rapidly, and today there's a bill under consideration at European level!
What are your measurement tools and how do you use them?
We work in homogeneous zones: we study the topography, geology and various soil practices and map them out. Imbalances vary depending on the soil and the crop: a drop in organic matter in cereals, high levels of copper in vines, etc. We then take soil samples from each homogeneous zone and analyze them using various indicators: DNA for biology, carbon, etc. The strength of Genesis lies not in carrying out these analyses, but in standardizing them so as to move from a measurement known in agronomy, the gram per kilo, to a score between 0 and 100, understandable by all and which takes into account the pedological context. With this score, we create a common language for all players in the value chain. Gradually, we build up a database that gives us a global view of soil conditions, from those in good health to the most degraded. So we can see where one soil stands in relation to another. We are not working alone on this database, but are conducting studies with research institutes such as the École Normale Supérieure and the CNRS on this standardization work.
Expectations about agricultural transition are high. How are you working with the various stakeholders to meet these challenges?
Farmers alone cannot bear the cost of agricultural transition. Either because they have strong convictions, or because they have regulatory obligations and must provide data on their impact. They can no longer say that what happens in the fields is not their problem. Today, they call on Genesis to do this data extraction work, asking us to provide proof of their impact on the soil. It's free for the farmer, whose data will enable us to identify which practices have a positive impact. Once the manufacturer has the data, it's up to him to support the farmer in his transition.
How were you received by the farmers?
We were worried that farmers might be wary of sharing their data, but we've been very well received. They're well aware that their soil is their asset, so they're happy to know more about it. However, it is essential that this information cannot be used against them. In Europe, he's protected by the RGPD, the data protection law. This data is personal, he must know for what purpose it is being used and can at any time decide to regain ownership of it. Our goal today is to increase knowledge: we can't stop producing, so we have to improve to produce more sustainably. Sharing data is a fundamental issue.
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