Expert Expresses Fear Over Soil Fertility Decline

A Senior Research Fellow
of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, (UNU-INRA), Dr. Effiom Oku has said that the decline in soil fertility and erosion, water scarcity and inappropriate farming practices are part of the main challenges confronting food production in the sub-Saharan Africa.
Oku who stated this at a two day workshop organized in Nairobi, Kenya recently by the United Nations University Institute for Inter grated Management of Materials Fluxes and Resources (UNU-FLORES) in Partnership with the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), World Agro forestry Centre (ICRAF) and Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany said the region faces a significant decline in soil fertility.
The workshop which was themed “Advancing Intergrated Soil and water management for climate Adapted Land use in Low Fertility Areas of Sub-Africa was attended by Nigeria.
According to The Tide source, in order to facilitate the discussion at the workshop, an initial mapping study was conducted to review the current status of soil and laud use management in some parts of Africa notably, Nigeria, Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.
Oku noted that results from the mapping assessment serve as a testimony that majority of countries in Africa need and extensive monitoring programme to determine the impact of climate change on soil fertility, soil moisture and land degradation.
He further noted that in the sub-Saharan region were over 80 per cent of the population depends on agriculture that contributes about 60 per cent of the total employment figures in the region, a decline in soil fertility and degradation of land needed for farming activities would have repercussion on food security.
UNU-INRA, whose mandate is the enhancement of the capacity of African researchers and institutions in natural resources management is optimistic that the out come from the joint regional research project would produce substantial climate adoptive measures that can mitigate the effect of climate change on soil fertility, in sub-Saharan Africa.