Effective soil usage will check food scarcity, says don

Nevertheless, the President of Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN), Prof. V.O. Chude, has warned that unless effective soil management strategies are timely embraced, the nation would face an imminent food scarcity.

Chude, at the SSSN 39th annual conference at Landmark University Omu-Aran, Kwara State, said that every serious-minded nation should have short, medium and long-term strategies for food security, “which only proper soil management can guarantee.”

According to him, the theme of this year’s conference, “Managing Nigerian Soil for Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation,” was consciously chosen to harp on the imperative of soil management in enhancing food and nutrition security in the face of climate change.

Already, the bill for an act to establish the Nigerian Institute of Soil Science, the professional body of the Nigerian Institute of Soil Scientists has been laid before the senate for the third and final reading.

The mission statement, Chude said, was to ensure the efficient use, management and conservation of all land and soil resources in order to bring about sustainable soil productivity and food security.