Soil Health Key to Food Security, Says Minister

… As stakeholders urge FG to address food inflation challenges

… As FG urged to provide maximum security for farmers

Stakeholders have attributed insecurity, climate change, and land degradation to the challenges of food inflation in the country and called on the federal government to provide a lasting solution to the challenges to deflate food prices in the country.

The call was made at the Sensitization and validation workshop on the introduction of soil health card to Nigeria Agriculture System organized by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security held in Ibadan.

In his address, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Sabi explained that the workshop was designed to deepen farmers’ knowledge and explore the regulatory and implementation frameworks, identify existing gaps, and outline a path forward to increase food production in the country.

He lamented how land degradation has posed critical environmental challenges that impacted all ecological zones within the country.

Dr. Sabi added that land degradation is driven by human activities, including agricultural practices, pastoralism, deforestation, and natural processes, leading to reduced food production, food insecurity, drought, flooding, and erosion.

He noted that overcoming food insecurity requires coordinated efforts from stakeholders, including government, private sector, farmers’ associations, and development partners.

Dr. Sabi emphasized that enhancing soil health is vital for improving Nigerians’ livelihoods and achieving sustainable development.

In his remark, The Director of Agriculture and Climate Change Management Services, Bello Mohammed, stressed that healthy soil leads to increased food production and food security.

in his welcome address, Chief Tobias Iwuh, representative of the National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, (AFAN) highlighted insecurity as a major challenge and urged the federal government to provide maximum security for farmers.

Dr. Iwuh also identified the hike in fuel prices as a contributor to food inflation and appealed for government intervention.

In her remark, The National President of Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Hajia Fatima Bello who was represented by National officer, Prof. Udeh Nkemdilim from Enugu state, emphasizes that the would improved food production by guiding the participants on how to improve the soil fertility to boost up cultivation.

The sensitization and workshop program aimed to educate farmers in Nigeria, divided into regional sessions, on improving soil health to boost cultivation.