The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) held a two-day Soil Week event on 29-30 October in partnership with EJP Soil, led by the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), at its campus in Norway. This event aimed to engage local stakeholders in discussions on soil health, with a focus on soil organic carbon (SOC), soil degradation and prevention of soil erosion.

The event was attended by 50 participants, both in-person and online. Participants included researchers, students, farmers, farmers’ association representatives, NGO representatives, economists, policymakers and other stakeholders from the agriculture and soil-related industries. Presentations covered key topics such as soil health, carbon sequestration, and soil structure. Attendees received an overview of the SOLO project, including its objectives, progress, and key findings from the EJP Soil initiative.

The event featured an interactive workshop, where participants worked together to identify and prioritise knowledge gaps. The first day centred on issues of soil erosion and soil structure, while the second day emphasised soil organic carbon. The event concluded with a roundtable discussion, during which experts addressed participants' questions.

A delegate from the Directorate of Agriculture facilitated direct engagement with policymakers on the addressed issues. Additionally, gaps and challenges related to land degradation and soil erosion were identified and communicated to the relevant Think Tank teams.

While a number of bottlenecks were identified, a key solution that was recognised was the stronger involvement of farmers and end users, alongside engaging stakeholders more actively in research, which was seen as central to addressing these challenges.