3. Ecological soil quality for a sustainable society

3.1 Agro-ecological transition

To meet the growing food needs of a rapidly expanding world population since the 1950s, agriculture has evolved towards a productivist model based on intensive mechanization and the use of chemical inputs. It is now recognized that this type of agriculture generates numerous negative externalities for the environment and human health. Over sixty years of intensive tillage and the use of phytosanitary products and chemical fertilizers have led to a deterioration in the physical, chemical and biological quality of soils. In France today, 20% of soils are subject to major erosion processes, over 4,000 polluted sites are listed, and there is an overall drop in the carbon content of agricultural soils (2011 report on the state of soils in France, GisSol,...