Healthy soils as a booster to EU competitiveness

Summary

This policy analysis examines how soil-related business models—including biotechnology, site remediation, carbon farming, regenerative agriculture and agritech—can simultaneously enhance EU competitiveness and address environmental challenges. The report documents that over 60% of EU soils are unhealthy, costing more than €50 billion annually, and demonstrates that soil-focused enterprises, supported by emerging regulatory frameworks such as the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation, offer pathways to reduce chemical inputs, increase yields and support biodiversity whilst strengthening the EU's economic position.

UK applicability

The findings are broadly applicable to UK agriculture and policy, particularly given the UK's alignment with EU soil health priorities and similar challenges of soil degradation. However, UK implementation would require tailored regulatory frameworks post-EU membership and consideration of differences in soil types, climate variability and farm structure compared to EU member states.

Key measures

EU soil health status (% of soils in healthy condition); annual costs of soil degradation (€ billion); EU soil remediation market valuation (€8.5 billion) and annual growth rate (5%); EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation revenue potential (€6 billion per year); crop yield impacts and synthetic input reduction from regenerative agriculture

Outcomes reported

The study assessed the economic and competitive potential of soil-related business models (biotechnology, remediation, carbon farming, regenerative agriculture, and agritech) in addressing soil degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss across the EU. It quantified market valuations and growth rates for key soil-related sectors and evaluated their capacity to improve agricultural sustainability and ecosystem functioning.

Topic tags