Soil
Soil is the most valuable natural treasure. Our goal is to protect the soil and to use it wisely. We also want to ensure that our agriculture is based on sound principles, those being absolutely clear property relations for farmers managing the soil.
The total area of agricultural land resources (ALR) in the Czech Republic as of 31 December 2016 came to 4 208 000 ha. Agricultural land (a.l.) represents 53.4 % of the total land area of the Czech Republic. The percentage of ploughing in 2016 was 70 %. The quality of the agricultural land resources is measured on the basis of the classification of the agricultural land resources (CALR).
Roughly 60 % of the ALR consists of less to poor fertile soils (approximately 54 % of arable soils are average and below-average and about 6 % of the area is completely inappropriate for agroecosystems) roughly 40 % of soils have above average fertility. Updating of the demarcation of assessed
soil-ecological units (ASEU) in the field is ongoing and there is also the ongoing modernisation of the ASEU system. The long-term use of the agricultural land resources for organic farming and non-food production has been kept at a more or less steady level. As of 1 June 2017 the total area of agricultural land for organic farming was approximately 506 000 ha, i.e. 12.0 % of the agricultural land resources and is comparable with the extent of organic agriculture in developed EU Member States. On the basis of the Ministry’s Strategy with a view to 2030, one of the Ministry of Agriculture’s aims is to ensure the Czech Republic is self-sufficient in food whilst substantially improving the impacts of agriculture on natural resources and increasing protection in times of climate change with regard to sustainable farming and to comprehensive development and landscape creation.