Restoring soil as a global public good and shared responsibility

The foundation of food, climate adaptation, and sustainable growth

Soil is far more than dirt beneath our feet. It feeds plants, stores carbon, filters water and sustains biodiversity. For decades, it has been the quiet enabler of life—essential yet too often overlooked in global debates on food and climate. 

Recent shocks, from the Covid‑19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine, exposed the fragility of food systems and the vulnerabilities of fragmented supply chains. 

The conversation about soil has since changed. Today, soil health is recognized not only as an environmental concern but as a matter of national security. At the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored that hunger fuels instability, resource competition, and migration. The message was clear: “There is no security without food security, and there is no food security without soil health.” 

Africa’s grand challenge

Land and soil degradation affect more than 485 million people across Africa. For most of the continent’s 33 million smallholder farms, growing food in degraded soil is the norm, not the exception. 

These trends are worsening under the climate crisis. At the same time, Sub-Saharan Africa faces the largest projected increase in food demand in the world. Meeting this demand requires scalable, sustainable solutions. There are no silver bullets, and collaboration must be grounded in science and humility.   

Building resilience through partnerships

In this context, Yara and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have committed to elevating soil health—not as a short‑term fix, but as a cornerstone of global resilience. We believe open data, local empowerment and public-private partnerships are keys to unlocking systemic change. 

Together, we have invested in an inclusive, data-driven infrastructure. Through the Varda Foundation we launched platforms like SoilHive^® and Global FieldID^®. These tools democratize access to soil and field data, enabling farmers, researchers and policymakers to make informed decisions that regenerate soils, optimize nutrient use, and protect biodiversity. 

The Varda Foundation 

"Soil is a global commons: understanding and protecting it requires a shared data infrastructure that crosses borders and institutions. The Varda Foundation was created on the belief that digital public goods must serve the many, not the few: with SoilHive^®, we’re showing that shared, interoperable soil data is not only possible—it is indispensable for safeguarding the long-term resilience of our agricultural systems."

Simone Sala, Executive Director, Varda Foundation 

The launch of the Varda Foundation marks a new chapter in advancing soil stewardship as a global public good. With its headquarters in Rome and leadership under Dr. Simone Sala, the Foundation now carries forward Yara’s pioneering work in building neutral, open digital infrastructure for agriculture. 

Flagship platforms such as Global FieldID^® and SoilHive^® have been transferred into the Foundation’s mission‑driven governance model, ensuring they remain accessible, transparent, and trusted tools for farmers, researchers, NGOs, and policymakers worldwide. 

Guided by a diverse Board of Directors and supported by partners including the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR‑ICRAF), the World Farmers’ Organisation, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and others, the foundation is positioned to catalyze collaboration across sectors. By stewarding soil data as a common good, the Varda Foundation will help reduce fragmentation, strengthen accountability, and accelerate progress toward resilient, nature‑positive food systems.