Strategic, robust soil mgt will sustain agriculture – Abdullahi
From left: Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and Director, Agricultural Land and Climate Change Management Services, Mr Oshadiya Olanipekun during the 2025 world soil day celebration Thursday in Abuja.
Omeiza Bilal
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi has said that strategic and robust soil management is the foundation of sustainable food production, environmental quality, and agricultural resilience.
The Minister made this disclosure during the celebration of 2025 World Soil Day event at Abuja Continental Hotel Thursday in Abuja.
Abdullahi stated that Soil constitutes the backbone of the agricultural sector, supplying 95% of food and providing 15 of the 18 essential elements required for plant growth.
The Minister noted that ‘’Soil supports crop growth and livestock production, purifies water, regulates climate, sequesters carbon, mitigates greenhouse gas emissions, and offers habitat for beneficial microorganisms, thereby supporting ecosystem services and biodiversity’’
He pointed out that ‘’World Soil Day will enable us to educate the public especially our esteemed farmers about soil conservation and its advantages, promote sustainable agricultural practices, support the ministry’s initiatives for soil health, encourage research, and advocate for policies that safeguard our soils’’.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the ministry’s vision ‘’to restore and uphold soil health, ensuring sustainable agriculture, food security, and enhanced livelihoods for all Nigerians’’.
Sen. Abdullahi highlighted federal government efforts to ‘’improve soil management by the launch of Nigeria Farmers’ Soil Health Scheme (NFSHS) in October with nearly 600 farmers and stakeholders in attend The scheme is part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Food Security’’.
According to him, the programme offers crop- and location-specific fertilizer recommendations to curb indiscriminate fertilizer use, reduce pollution, and cut production costs. It also promotes organic amendments and regenerative agriculture practices to protect soil and water resources.
‘’A major component of the initiative is the plan to establish soil-testing laboratories in all 774 local government areas, to be run by youth and women agripreneurs. Twelve laboratories, equipped with modern diagnostic tools, have already been installed across the six geopolitical zones’’.
“We are implementing the Nairobi Declaration on African Fertilizer and Soil Health endorsed by African Heads of State, and strong collaboration with development partners including GIZ, Soil Values, AGRA, the World Bank’s ACReSAL Project, Sasakawa Africa, IITA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’.
He added that ‘’ another significant milestone achieved is the incorporation of the NFSHS into the federal budget and the organization of stakeholder workshops leading to the establishment of the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) platform and Readiness Assessment’’.
He revealed that ‘’ on the operational front, training sessions for laboratory technicians and technologists regarding the use of Soil Health Card modules were held in Oyo and Kano States earlier in 2025, along with readiness assessments and pilot soil analyses conducted in 12 states across the six geopolitical zones.
He further said that ‘’ state-of-the-art soil laboratory equipment has been deployed and successfully installed for operations in twelve states across the six geo-political zones of the country. The government is not relenting to reposition Nigeria agriculture landscape; and there is a strong synergy with both local and international partners to rejuvenate degraded soil across the country’’.
In a goodwill message, President, Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS), Prof. Abubakar Musa Kundiri, represented by the Vice President, Prof Olumuyiwa James Jayeoba, said the theme “Healthy Soils, Healthy Cities” reflects a growing understanding that soil health is central not only to agriculture but also to urban sustainability.
Kundiri reiterated NISS’s commitment to promoting evidence-based soil management, ethical fertilizer use, urban agriculture, and the enforcement of the Soil Science Profession Act.
