Earthworms help produce as much grain as Russia, say researchers

Earthworms break down organic matter and aerate soil, increasing its fertility for growing crops. Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters

Earthworms’ contribution to the world’s grain harvest matches that of Russia, according to a study documenting their enormous role in food production.

This amounts to 140 millions of tonnes of food a year, researchers said, which would make earthworms the fourth largest global producer if they were a country. Russia produced 150m tonnes in 2022 and expects to produce 120m tonnes this year.