Researchers and civil-society organisations have been calling for a reversal of soil degradation by 2020, and are pressing for at least one international panel of experts to meet at the United Nation to address this central aspect of global food security. Every year, 12 million hectares of land - an area the size of Austria and Switzerland - is lost to overuse and excessive application of fertilisers. The environmental impact is magnified by large-scale farming. The social consequences can also be severe: eviction, the loss of livelihoods, and violent conflict.