Soil Testing Before Planting Helps Farmers Get Good Yields, Says NISS

By Idris Khalid

The Northeast Nigeria Institute of soil Science has said that the testing of soil before planting would assist and guide the farmers to fully understand whether their farms have acidity or alkalinity.

The Zonal Coordinator of the institute, Professor Saminu Abdulrahman Ibrahim stated this at the occasion of World Soil Day celebration 2022 held at Gubi ATBU Bauchi, yesterday, he described World Soil Day as a special day that expert on soil can enlighten the general public especially farmers on the significant of soil.

World Soil Day 2022 and its campaign “Soils: Where food begins” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.

He said in view of the importance of soil to the teeming farmers and the general public, the institute had recently distributed testing kits machines to all states of the northeast to enable them test soil at their farms before embarking on any types of agricultural activities.

According to him alkalinity, acidity as well as desert encouragement are the main problems facing the soil and advised the farmers to adopt the system of using testing kits to enable them solve their common problems in agriculture.

He further said, Soil is a world made up of organisms, minerals, and organic components that provides food for humans and animals through plant growth.

He said, World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually in December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.

Earlier the special guest at the occasion who is also the ATBU Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammed Abdul’aziz assured that the ATBU would continue to provide all the necessary support to the department of soil science in order to achieve the set objectives.

In his remarks the programme manager BSADP Alhaji Abubakar Jafaru Ilelah, represented by Director Extension Alhaji Ya’u Muhammed, thanked the institute for enlightening the farmers across the state.

Topics treated include emerging soil health and quality for food security and nutrition, and managing soil fertility to enhance crops performance.