World Soil Day: Sustainable Soil Management Will Boost Food Production, Experts 

A Professor of soil science, Kolapo Olatunji Oluwasemire has disclosed that sustainable soil management will boost food production if strictly adhere to.

Prof. Oluwasemire, who is the Head of Department of Soil Science at the University of Ibadan stated this during the World Soil Day held at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, (I A R& T) Ibadan, Oyo State.

The Professor said that the lecture was aimed at creating awareness in maintaining healthy ecosystem and human well-being, while disclosing that 95 percent of the food we eat comes from the soil and that it is highly essential to farmers to study the soil before planting their crops or seeds.

He said that lack of some basic nutrients is always responsible for underdeveloped plants, while also confirming climatic change as another factor that needs to be critically observed, while choosing crops to be planted on a particular soil.

While welcoming participants to the event, the Executive Director of the Institute, Professor Veronica Obatolu stated that the institute has assisted in creating awareness and carried out useful researches in 49 local governments across the country, which according to her, can be accessed through the Institute’s website.

Professor Obatolu however, called for proper education on the importance of soil to healthy crops.

She said that advocacy and concrete actions in the field are the best ways to maintain healthy soil and help to achieve sustainable development goals.

“There is need to encourage stakeholders to engage in proactive activities that will combat soil misuse and improve soil health. With this, the menace of soil degradation will reduce minimally and food security will be ensured,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, the South West Zonal Coordinator of Nigeria Institute of Soil Management (NISS), Professor James Alabi Adediran, while stating the importance of soil to human existence, said that it is important to study soil before planting crops and that human existence is built on the soil, hence the need to give the body good and nourish food.

“Soil fertility status is the fundamental building block on which all agric productions system are built, and healthy and well- nourished soils are crucial to achieving it,” he said.

The event, which was tagged; “Soil Where Food Begins,” had in attendance various scholars from soil science field, students and other stakeholders.