Tariq Saeedi and Elvira Kadyrova
“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains,” said the U.S. radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey in 1978.
Yes, just six inches of soil. This is the thin layer between our existence and non-existence.
The inspiring British film ‘Six Inches of Soil’ is a story of courage, vision and hope.
It tells the story of the remarkable farmers, communities, small businesses, chefs and entrepreneurs who are leading the way to transform how our food is produced and consumed.
Agroecology is an approach to farming that includes ‘regenerative’ farming techniques that work in harmony with, rather than against nature. It focuses on local food systems and shorter supply chains. The advantages are numerous: we get to know who is growing our food and how, farmers get paid a fair price and have the satisfaction of producing healthy food in a healthy environment. Agroecology may also be our best chance in the face of climate change: it keeps carbon in the ground and creates resilient systems in the face of climate uncertainty.
Six Inches of Soil tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food – to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities.
Six inches of Soil
https://www.sixinchesofsoil.org/
Six Inches of Soil is a story of three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey to heal the soil and help transform the food system – Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall.
As the trio of young farmers strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors who help them on their journey. They are joined by other experts providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planetOur farmers will have to navigate a broken food system, farm in a landscape degraded by industrial agriculture and learn how to reconnect people with the soil, where their food comes from and how it is produced.
They don’t shy away from tackling complex and thorny issues. This includes exploring the connection between food and health, food poverty and affordability, the role of animals in the farming system, Britain’s hugely unequal system of land ownership, barriers to new entrant farmers especially from diverse backgrounds and whether there is a place for carbon offsetting on farms.
Alongside hard-hitting facts, they also convey what it feels like to farm agroecologically – to farm with authentic connection with the land, changing seasons and the environment, to produce food for people you know and care about in the local community: to spend your days with your hands in the soil.
The film looks at the history of British farming and asks “How did we get here?” through a short animated chapter that brings the audience up to speed with the industrial heritage of farming and the solutions that are within reach.
We show that agroecological farming is not simply a job, but a way to live values and engage in practices which not only nourish the planet but also the farmers themselves.
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The British Embassy in Ashgabat, with the support of FAO, hosted the screening of the film on 21 February 2025. The composite event brought together scientists, policymakers, farmers, and global experts to explore how regenerative agriculture can transform food systems, restore ecosystems, and combat climate change. The message was clear: agriculture doesn’t have to deplete our planet—it can heal it.
Regeneration: A Green Future for Agriculture in Turkmenistan
https://www.newscentralasia.net/2025/02/22/regeneration-a-green-future-for-agriculture-in-turkmenistan/
Возрождение: зеленое будущее сельского хозяйства в Туркменистане
https://www.newscentralasia.net/2025/02/22/vozrozhdenie-zelenoe-budushchee-selskogo-khozyajstva-v-turkmenistane/
The links above will take you to our report (English and Russian) on the event.
The film stimulates imagination and it goes far beyond Agroecology, the approach to farming that includes ‘regenerative’ farming techniques.
Central Asia including Turkmenistan continues to experiment with new ideas and techniques in agriculture. There are three main objectives: 1. Water conservation; 2. Better crop yield; 3. Preservstion and improvement of the soil.
In the first few parts of this series we will present some more material from the film screening event. We are grateful to the British Embassy, particularly Eldar Latypov, for providing the material.
Later in the series, we will touch briefly on the new and emerging methods and technologies in agriculture. Some of them are already in different stages of implementation in the region but need more support for widespread benefits. /// nCa, 7 March 2025 [to be continued . . .]