NAN-AE-1
Soil
By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
Ibadan, Dec. 5, 2017 (NAN) Prof. James Adediran, the Executive Director, Institute of Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, has urged Nigerians to ensure proper management of the soil.
Adediran made the call in Ibadan on Tuesday at a forum organised by the institute to create awareness on the importance of the soil as the world marked the 2017 edition of the World Soil Day.
He advised stakeholders to learn how to properly manage the soil, stressing that the soil “ is the treasure of the present and future generations.’’
“Soil is from God and given to us to take care of; let’s take care of it so that it will serve us for the purpose for which God created it.
“Farmers work on the soil and through it produce food, so if it is not well taken care of, there will not be food and we know what that means to us,” Adediran said.
He said IAR&T has the national mandate on soil research and had since inception in 1986 been evolving strategies for managing and improving the quality of the nation’s soil.
Adediran said this year’s celebration would witness competitions on soil-related issues among stakeholders such as youths and children.
Also speaking, Dr Olufunmilayo Ande, the Head, Land and Water Resources Management Programme at IAR&T, described soil as a non-renewable material that “ could live forever if well taken care of.’’
According to her, there is a positive correlation between a good soil and healthy crop productivity.
“A good soil will yield a good crop; a sick one lacks the nutrients to bring forth healthy crops.
“Before we use the soil, we should carry out soil testing to avoid degradation of the soil, some soils shouldn’t even be cleared at all before planting while some don’t need to be mechanised.
“So the onus lies on us (farmers) to understand the kind of soil and crop that should be planted together at a place.
“The use of organic manure can help to improve the soil for proper and higher quality crop yield,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the theme of this year’s World Soil Day is: “ The Care of the Planet Starts from the Ground.’’
Highlights of the event included a road walk to create awareness on the importance of soil. (NAN)
CC/MOL/OJO
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(Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Mufutau Ojo)