NISS Northwest Zonal Office Holds Sensitisation Workshop in Sokoto

Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

The Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) North-west zone has reiterated its commitment to ensure good soil management for sustainable agricultural production and food security in Nigeria.

The Zonal Coordinator of the NISS in the North-west, Professor Samaila Sani Noma, said that the activities of the NISS, which were in line with its core mandate of enhancing the protection and management of soil resources to mitigate hunger and providing food in sufficient quantity and quality, has won the institute global recognition.

The NISS won $15,000 for outstanding activities among 48 organisations that contested for the award across the globe at the 2020 World Soil Day (WSD), which was held in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.

Noma, who is a professor of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), delivered the cheering news yesterday at a one-day sensitisation workshop that was attended by Registered Soil Scientists (RSS), within the zone at the university.

He said: “The World Soil Day award, sponsored by the Kingdom of Thailand in conjunction with Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations was received by Nigerian Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Oma Djebah, on behalf of Nigeria.

“Nigeria was adjudged best in the aspects of educational projects, rallies, experts’ dialogue, conferences, artistic performances, on-farm trials on good agricultural practices and youth knowledge on soils with specific initiatives.”

The workshop for registered soil scientists followed the eworkshop the institute held for farmers and extension workers within Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, in October.

It deliberated on “The Role of Nigeria Institute of Soil Science as the Regulator of Soil Science Profession in Nigeria,” which was presented by Professor Edward Uyovbiser, of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Aside sensitising members on activities of the institute, other area of deliberation at the gathering include the need for soil management and testing within the zone, as states in the region fell on different ecological zone.

In his goodwill message, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Professor Aminu Abubakar, commended the NISS for its outstanding performance, which lead to its success in winning the 2020 World Soil Day Award.

Abubakar promised to engage the NISS and other professional bodies like the Nigeria Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) in executing the ministry’s mandate of improved agricultural productivity in the state.

Earlier, the Chief Host at the Occasion and the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Alhassan Danladi Isah, encouraged the NISS to organise similar workshops for farmers in the region and Nigeria at large.