The Federal Government through the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OCP Africa Fertilizer Limited, to address soil problem for increased productivity. The Registrar of Nigeria Institute of Soil Science, Prof Victor Chude noted that the overall aim of the project was to improve soil quality and sustainability and increase agricultural productivity through effective sustainable management of problematic soils. According to him, they are targeting acidic soils, saline soils, alkaline soils among other problematic soils like soils with thick laterite, noting that they are specifically targeting acidic soils that cover about 75 per cent of the country, and also alkaline soils which because of the heavy catayons don’t support growth of crops. “We have the dry land soils in the extreme northern part of the country and the wet land and acid lands in the South. This initiative will certainly address these problems and restore the productive capacity of the soils in this category,” he added.

Source: The Guardian April 18, 2021 03:31 UTC