Famine from dead soil (6)
I believe the answer is:
dearth
'famine' is the definition.
('dearth' can be a synonym of 'famine')
'dead soil' is the wordplay.
'dead' becomes 'd'.
'soil' becomes 'earth' (I've seen this before).
'd'+'earth'='DEARTH'
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for dearth that I've seen before include "deficiency" , "poverty" , "Lack of resources" , "Acute insufficiency" , "Scarcity, paucity" .)