2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture, but 52 per cent of the land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation
As of 2008, land degradation affected 1.5 billion people globally
Arable land loss is estimated at 30 to 35 times the historical rate
Due to drought and desertification each year 12 million hectares are lost (23 hectares per minute), where 20 million tons of grain could have been grown
74 per cent of the poor are directly affected by land degradation globally