TRAILS4SOIL, which includes researchers and farmers across Europe, is a €11.7 million project to discover how regenerative and conservation agriculture could help reverse the degradation of soils and secure the long-term sustainability of European farming. Over the next five years, our EU-funded project will provide robust evidence from 100 sites across Europe on the impacts of regenerative and conservation agriculture – not only on soil health, but also on crop yield, farm income and farmer wellbeing.
The TRAIL4SOIL kick-off meeting took place in September 2025 in Córdoba, Spain, marking the start of a five-year collaboration that brings together 22 research and agricultural organisations from nine European countries.
The impoverished state of soil
Soil degradation poses a major threat to food security and biodiversity in Europe. According to the European Environment Agency, over 60% of soils are degraded. This means they are eroded, compacted, contaminated, or drained of nutrients and moisture. Intensive farming practices have been a key contributor to this decline. Interest in regenerative and conservation agriculture has grown rapidly as a potential means of restoring soil health and enhancing resilience to climate change. However, uncertainty remains about which practices are most effective under different conditions and how they influence productivity and livelihoods.
What will TRAILS4SOIL do?
Between 2025 and 2030, TRAILS4SOIL will work directly with farmers and land managers to assess the effects of regenerative and conservation methods across a network of 100 sites. The research will address five key areas by establishing co-created living labs across Europe about each of the following:
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Permanent crop cover
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Organic farming
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Climate-change adaptation
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Black-soil conservation
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Crop–livestock integration
Findings will be shared with farmers, land managers and policymakers, providing evidence-based guidance on which techniques are most effective in different contexts.
How will TRAILS4SOIL support farmers and wider society?
Professor Emilio González-Sánchez of the University of Córdoba, who coordinates the project, emphasised the urgency of the work:
“Society has overlooked soil’s needs for too long and we’re now experiencing the harmful repercussions of that. Soil erosion alone costs the EU economy up to €38 billion every year in reduced agricultural productivity and infrastructural damage. We will share our data from 100 sites with policymakers, farmers and land managers, giving them reliable information on regenerative and conservation agriculture. Ultimately, we want to help transform European agriculture for the benefit of all society and the environment.”
