- Views: 454
Professor Rattan LAL: "It is a matter of great honor and privilege to be interviewed by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and to specifically address issues of global significance".
Professor Rattan LAL: "Human must learn how to live in symbiosis with nature rather than conquer nature. There are ecological limits of some critical planetary processes that humanity must never cross. Tresspassing of these limits can lead to high price, such as the pandemic that has gripped humanity since October 2019.”
The year 2020 put under the sequester our health, activity, dreams, hopes and even lives. The watchword of the year, we were all convinced, was "isolation". The health system was sorely tested, on the shoulders of public health and medical science being placed the most responsible test of the century. But it suffered not only in the field of health, but also in other priority areas of life.
The year 2020 was also a challenging year for the agricultural sector of the Republic of Moldova. Scientists got involved as best they could to help the soil and agriculture, offering farmers various solutions based on research performed over the years. Specialists in the field have always tried to sound the alarm that the earth is getting sick and we need to be more careful about the way we manage it. In a logic of chance, we understand that just as man needs treatment, so the earth needs attention and healing too.
Keeping the discussion in this area, we found out that this disastrous year brought us some good news. The American researcher of Indian origin, Rattan Lal, Professor Emeritus, from Ohio State University, USA, was awarded the World Food Prize 2020 for his work in the field of soil health restoration. As a world-class pedologist and professor emeritus of soil sciences, he was rewarded with this prestigious prize for "developing and integrating a soil-centered approach to increasing food production that preserves natural resources and mitigates climate change." His research is considered by specialists to be fundamental in the process of restoring the soil health in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has led to discoveries that have had an impact on crop yields, conservation of natural resources and climate change mitigation.
The World Food Prize is awarded each year on October 16 - the day corresponding to the United Nations World Food Day. The novelty is all the more important and gratifying for us, as Prof. Rattan Lal participated, on November 29-30, 2019, in an online International Scientific Conference on Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture, organized in the Republic of Moldova by the State University „A. Russo” from Balti and the Research Institute for Field Crops ,,Selection”. The American researcher shared with colleagues his vast experience in Chernozem management for achieving the goals of sustainable development.
Motivated is our intention to conduct at the beginning of this year, full of multiple challenges and uncertainties, an interview with the holder of the World Food Prize, considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize in agriculture, Dr. Rattan Lal, whose model could help restoring soil health, increasing its contribution to soil conservation and global food supply, thus helping the farmers to improve their soil health and sharply increase their food production.
Eugenia Tofan
ASM Press Service
1. I express my high appreciation for the honor of conducting an interview with you at the beginning of this year, which we wish to be one of healing. I would like to ask you for a start, what do you know about our small country, the Republic of Moldova, about its people? Since we represent an agricultural country, with the only natural wealth, the soil, and you, being considered a "doctor of the soil", what do you know about our soils, which were once considered the best in the Black Sea region for cultivating various crops?
I had a very pleasant trip to Moldova in 2010. My host, Prof.Dr. Boris Boincean, showed me the beautiful country located in the Northeastern corner of the Balkan region, consisting of forests, rocky hills, beautiful vineyards, and very fertile farmland, comprising Chernozems. Its population of about 4 millions has a very rich culture and historical background. Moldova is also known for its vines, and Cricova and Milestii Mici are among the world’s largest cellers. Yes, Chernozems of Moldova are the best in the Black Sea region, and Prof. Boincean is a world renowned scientist about the properties and sustainable management of Chernozems. He has published a book on Chernozem and its management. With sustainable management, Chernozems are still among the best cropland soils of the world.
2.You are a veteran member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and have dedicated your life to restoring soil health. And to quote the President of the Foundation that awarded you the prestigious 2020 World Food Award, you are a pioneer in soil science with a prodigious passion for research that improves soil health, improves agricultural production, improves the nutritional quality of food, restores the environment and mitigates climate change. There are entire regions under the sign of drought, including the Black Sea region, which come with problems and threats to food security, which we really call hunger. How serious is this threat and what are your predictions?
I should acknowledge the great honor and privilege of receiving an honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from Alecu Russo Balti State University, Republic of Moldova in 2010. Award of the honorary degree created numerous opportunities for me including the 2020 World Food Prize and 2019 Japan Prize. Yes, global climate change is increasing both, the frequency and intensity of extreme events, including drought. However, the problem of drought is exacerbated by land misuse and soil mismanagement. The data from several long-term experiments conducted at the “Selectia” Research Institute of Field Crops, Balti, Republic of Moldova, under the leadership of Prof. Boincean have shown that solution to drought lies in conserving the rainwater in soil where it falls. The strategy is to minimize losses by surface runoff and evaporation and increase the “green water storage capacity of the root zone”. Green water refers to the plant available water capacity of the soil. Chernozem, with its high organic matter content and deep rooting zone, should be managed by conservation agriculture to reduce the incidence and severity of drought. Conservation agriculture involves no-till farming, retention of crop residue mulch on the soil surface, including a cover crop in the rotation cycle and adopting systems of nutrient cycling by manuring and use of biofertilizers. Drought is an anthropogenically created problem and can be mitigated by recommended systems of soil and crop management which can restore soil health.
3.The unwavering joy and enthusiasm of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and the World Food Prize in 2020 reminded you of the gratitude, privilege and honor of working for farmers around the world. As a result of this you stated that we must eliminate hunger. You also warned that we need to make sure that the food we eat is healthy, accrediting the idea of the concept of healthy soil, plants, animals, people and the environment, etc., to which you added that “the urgent task of feeding humanity will be fulfilled only when each person will have access to an adequate amount of nutritious food grown on healthy soil and in a clean environment". What efforts are needed and how can we really talk about progress in human development and in how many years we could tick the realization of this goal?
Thank you for a very good question. Hunger is a major global issue. In 2020, we had about 700 million food insecure people in the world, and the number increased by another 80-130 million be the end of 2020 due to disruptions in food production and supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunger and malnutrition are among the major causes of civil strife and political instability. The world peace is threatened because of the desperateness caused by hunger and malnutrition. The ferocious and intense fire in the pit of an empty stomach, a major cause of fanaticism and extremism globally, can only be quenched by the divine powers in a loaf of bread made from grains grown on a healthy soil. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (or the Agenda 2030) has a high priority to end hunger by 2030. All member states of the world are committed to this goal. It must be realized that hunger is a man-made tragedy. In most cases, hunger is caused by lack of access to food because of poverty and poor distribution. In addition to restoring and managing soil heath, there is also a strong need for political will power. Both nationally and internationally, we must make famine politically intolerable, morally toxic, ethically unthinkable, and humanely unacceptable. Access to safe, nutritious and adequate amount of food is the most basic human right. We already produce enough food to feed the current and future population. Of the 3 billion ton of food grain produced globally every year, about 1 billion ton are wasted. Food wastage is a crime against nature, and must be stopped. Hunger is a social and political problem, and must be addressed.
4.Climate change is one of the biggest threats to the environment, affecting all regions of the world, global warming, experts say, is unequivocal, and the problem of drinking water is becoming more serious in many countries around the world. All these problems increasingly require the involvement of science in solving them. How do you see the role of science in solving these global problems and how do you personally get involved in overcoming this situation?
Yes, global warming is among major issues of the 21st century. Whereas the fossil fuel combustion since the Industrial Revolution (circa 1750) has been a major source of gaseous emissions, agriculture has also been a source of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Gaseous emissions from agricultural lands are exacerbated by accelerated soil erosion, indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers especially nitrogenous fertilizers and excessive use of pesticides and other practices based on the use of fossil fuel energy. Most soils of agroecosystems, including Chernozems of the Republic of Moldova, have lost from 30 to 50 percent or more of their original stocks of soil organic carbon reserves. Some soils used for a longtime with extractive farming practices in developing countries (e.g. Africa, Asia, Caribbean , Central America , Andean region) have lost as much as 75% of their original soil organic carbon stock. Historic loss of soil organic carbon from world agricultural soils may be as much as 135 Gt. However, adoption of a restorative land use and judicious soil and crop management practices can sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis of a land unit and create a positive soil ecosystem carbon budget. Technical potential of carbon sequestration in soil of the world is about 2.5 Gt C/yr. The cumulative potential of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems of the world between 2020 and 2100 (80 years period) is 178 Gt in soil and 155 Gt in forest biomass. This is equivalent to drawdown of about 157 ppm of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, it is important to find viable alternative to fossil fuel (non-carbon fuel sources). That being the case, carbon sequestration in the terrestrial biosphere (soil and forests) is a win-win-win option. It is the most cost effective option, it is essential to achieving food and nutritional security and improving the environment. It is a bridge to the future, because it gives us some time until no-carbon fuel sources take effect. Carbon sequestration in the terrestrial biosphere is a natural land-based option. It is a solution based on the power of soil. This strategy makes agriculture solution rather than the cause of the problem. Thus, it is important that improved agricultural practices reconcile the need of producing food for the growing and increasingly affluent world population with the absolute necessity of restoring and improving the environment. We have the scientific knowledge to achieve both. We need political will power to translate science into action.
5.In the critical situation created, humanity is also attacked by the coronavirus, which collapses any myth about human power. In these dramatic situations, man usually appeals to either God or science. And as we know that God has punished us for disrespecting nature, all we have to do is turn to science. We are sure that scientists have a hard word to say, or, the disastrous situation in which mankind was mentioned, in terms of health, economy, agriculture, environment, etc., requires action, applicability and commitment from researchers. What would be the immediate solutions, in the opinion of the scientist? Could international collaboration, global consolidation, including of scientists, accelerate the identification of solutions to the challenges of the 21st century?
Human must learn how to live in symbiosis with nature rather than conquer nature. There are ecological limits of some critical planetary processes that humanity must never cross. Trespassing of these limits can lead to high price, such as the pandemic that has gripped humanity since October 2019. We must maintain buffer zones between us and nature. Humanity must learn important lessons from the COVID -19 pandemic: first, mother nature knows no mercy and is very unforgiving of disobedient children; second, mother nature does not favor the rich, highly developed, technically advanced or militarily strong nations; third, while humanity suffers ,mother nature is benefitted and it has infinite resilience; fourth, humanity must understand and respect nature’s critical boundaries and never ever cross these limits; and the fifth one, humanity must share nature’s benevolence with other inhabitants of the planet. There are a total of 8.7 million known species of the Earth, and human consume more than 40 % of its total productivity. Therefore, it is important for humanity to learn how to produce more from less (land, water, energy) and return some of the land resources back to nature. Land area under agriculture is 5 billion hectare (1.5 billion cropland and 3.5 billion grazing land). We do not need so much land. With judicious management and rethinking of our dietary and other needs, we can easily return 200 million hectare of cropland and as much as 1 billion hectare of grazing land back to nature. There are many who are advocating need for more land to feed the growing population. This would be a wrong strategy and a costly mistake. Returning some land back to nature is in our own good interests. Human will benefit when nature benefits, because we belong to nature, but nature does not belong to us.
6. Dear Professor, if at the beginning of the interview, I asked you, in general, what you know about our country and its people, now I would like to ask you what you think about Moldovan scientists, but also about the level of science development in the Republic of Moldova, knowing that you participated in an online International Scientific Conference on sustainable and resilient agriculture, organized in our country by the State University „A. Russo” from Bălți and the Research Institute for Field Crops „Selection”.
I am glad that you asked this question. I have already answered it in Q1 and Q2. I have very high respect for the scientific quality and professional integrity of scientists of Moldova. Prof. Dr. Boris Boincean is an excellent example. While he was with us in Ohio for only a few months, he wrote a very good book on properties and management of Chernozems. This book is an important reference material on this theme. He, like many other colleagues from the ,,Alecu Russo” State University, Balti and throughout the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, is an example of hard work and perseverance, commitment to excellence and professional integrity. Republic of Moldova and the world have a bright future because of the excellent scientific research. Several conferences organized by State University and the Research Institute of Field Crops ,,Selectia” have resulted in proceedings, which are a good compendium of the actual State of Knowledge. The site of the long-term experiments on Chernozems at the Research Institute of Field Crops should be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I will be glad to support such an action. I have many fond memories of my visit to this experimental site in 2010.
7.Because we are at the beginning of the year, I would like to ask you to come with a message for scientific researchers from the Republic of Moldova in the New Year 2021, but not before thanking you for the honor and time given to conduct this interview, but also for the unique opportunity to provide our researchers with an interview, for the first time, with an internationally renowned scientist, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. And who knows, maybe after we get “green light” for healing and COVID-19 goes down in history, maybe you visit our country, to see our soils, but also the wonderful people who also take care of their health.
Happy New Year!
First of all, I must thank Prof. Dr. Ion Tiginyanu, President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, to invite me for this interview. It is a matter of great honor and privilege to be interviewed by the Academy of Sciences and specifically addressing issues of global significance. I am very proud of my affiliation with the ,,Alecu Russo” State University, Balti, and have very high respect for its academic mission and historic accomplishments. The World is at a cross roads. Many positive changes will happen in agriculture and other sciences between now and 2050. Thus, advancing science and translating scientific information into action through appropriate policies at national and global level are critical. This is the time when relevant science to address critical issues of planetary significance can make a difference.
Ten tenets of relevant science, already demonstrated by the members of Science Academy of Moldova, are: 1) originality in thinking; 2) objectivity in interpretation of data; 3) accuracy in observations; 4) integrity in scientific research; 5) accountability in obligations; 6) relevance in implementation; 7) collegiality in work place, 8) productivity in work ethics; 9) moral neutrality in assessment, and 10) critical thinking in generalization of results.
To my colleagues in crop science and agronomy, I would like to emphasize the need for enhancing awareness about the role soil science can play in addressing critical issues. Soil, the basis and foundation of all terrestrial life, provides food to nourish our bodies, knowledge to nourish our minds, aesthetical beauty to nourish our soul, and divine powers to resurrect death into life. Thus, we have obligations to protect, restore and improve its capacity to generate ecosystem services for human and nature. We have made a lot of progress, but there is no cause for complacency because even the bigger challenges lie ahead. I am sure that we will meet these challenges and be successful. I believe in the truism that “World is One Family“. For if we treat each other as we would our parents, siblings or cousins—and focus on the benefits and burdens we share ---surely only good will come of it. This is especially true during this tragic time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I wish all friends and colleagues, but also the entire population of Moldova a very happy, safe, healthy and peaceful 2021!
Best regards!
Thank you!
