Support should be given to the production of biomass by improving access to water and other soil factors (soil structure and aeration, availability of nutrients, pH value, biological activity of soil), careful tillage, pasture farming and sustainable management of grassland, integrated agricultural production, including best practices from organic and conventional farming, i.e. crop rotation, the cultivation of leguminous crops, the recovery of organic waste, composting and creating winter plant cover for fields, etc.

21. Recalls that agriculture remains a fundamental source of livelihood, subsistence and food security for rural communities; notes, however, that rural land is coming under multiple pressures, because of population growth, land-use conversion, commercial investments, and environmental degradation due to drought, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, as well as natural disasters and conflicts; believes, in this connection, that securing land tenure for rural communities is essential to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs); takes the view that a range of policy instruments can help address these challenges, and they must be a ...[+++]dapted to meet local conditions;

E. whereas in rural areas, some 200 million people (almost 20 % of the world’s poor) have no access to sufficient land to make a living; whereas rural land is coming under multiple pressures, such as population growth, land-use conversion, commercial investments, environmental degradation due to drought, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, as well as natural disasters and conflicts; and whereas securing land rights is necessary to promote social stability by reducing uncertainty and conflicts over land;

21. Recalls that agriculture remains a fundamental source of livelihood, subsistence and food security for rural communities; notes, however, that rural land is coming under multiple pressures, because of population growth, land-use conversion, commercial investments, and environmental degradation due to drought, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, as well as natural disasters and conflicts; believes, in this connection, that securing land tenure for rural communities is essential to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs); takes the view that a range of policy instruments can help address these challenges, and they must be a ...[+++]dapted to meet local conditions;

E. whereas in rural areas, some 200 million people (almost 20 % of the world’s poor) have no access to sufficient land to make a living; whereas rural land is coming under multiple pressures, such as population growth, land-use conversion, commercial investments, environmental degradation due to drought, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, as well as natural disasters and conflicts; and whereas securing land rights is necessary to promote social stability by reducing uncertainty and conflicts over land;

L. whereas desertification and soil nutrient depletion in the Sahel are the results of the unsustainable use of natural resources, including the destruction of forests and bushland and the effects of climate change,