2024 World Soil Day, Dec 5: A former Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Enugu state, Nigeria, Dr Oluedo Eric, has called the attention of the world to a report by the United Nations in 2022: that 40% of all soils worldwide are moderately or severely degraded and could rise to 90% by 2050 if deforestation, overgrazing, intensive cultivation, urbanization & other harmful practices persist.
Speaking on the Theme for this year’s celebration, Dr Oluedo warned that because a greater diversity of nutritious harvested foods should be available on our tables (for Stomach), in our Stores (for Storage), and in our markets (for Trade and Commerce), if we allow 90% of our Soils to die in 2050, the “Soil-to-Stomach, Soil-to-Storage and Soil-to-Market” Systems of Specialised Food Production which could have been escalated to achieve Zero Hunger in the entire World, will also die.
Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link with soil. Over 95 percent of our food comes from soils. Besides, they supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.
However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life, and decreasing the level of vitamins and nutrients in food. Sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, organic matter addition, and cover cropping, improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and enhance water infiltration and storage. These practices also preserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.
World Soil Day 2024 (WSD) campaign, under the theme Caring for soils: “measure, monitor, manage” underscores the importance of accurate soil data and information in understanding soils characteristics and supporting informed decision-making on sustainable soil management for food security.
Finally, the current level of deforestation, overgrazing, intensive cultivation, urbanization and use of excessive Chemicals for farming in our Soils today, is alarming. This must not be allowed to continue.
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