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Soil Science Society of Nigeria has called for sustainable management of soil organic carbon to mitigate impact of climate change on food production.
President, Soil Science Society of Nigeria, Professor Bashir Raji made the call in an exclusive interview with Lanre Omotoso in Ilorin.
Professor Raji who identified soil organic carbon as measureable component of nutrients needed by the soil to function optimally, stressed that it would aid in moisture retention, soil structure as well as reverse soil degradation.
He noted that over Thirty percent of the world’s soils are degraded leading to a major loss of global Soil Organic Carbon, stressed that Soil Organic Carbon could be resuscitated through application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers.
Professor Raji who appreciated the Private Sector-led Federal Government Tractor Initiative for providing Ten Thousand tractors to support farming and Agro-Processing in Nigeria, emphasized that efforts must be made not to degrade the already fragile soils.
While emphasizing that mechanization is a sure way of tackling the food security, Professor Raji said land clearing should be done in conjunction with professional Soil Scientists in order not to degrade already fragile soils.
Professor Raji also called on Federal Government to redouble efforts in completing the Great Green Wall project which had only reached Sixteen percent of its overall goal since inception in 2007.
The soil scientist noted that earlier completion of the Great Green Wall would create job, support more livestock, grow more food, mitigate effects of desertification, land degradation, climate change and extreme poverty linked to recurrent droughts in the Sahel, a zone mostly affected by insecurity and banditry.
