Institute Trains Soil Scientist in North-west

Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

As part of its mandate to improve soil fertility and increase agricultural production, the Nigerian Institute of Soil Science, Northwest zone, has organised a capacity-building workshop for registered soil scientists.

Declaring the workshop open, the NISS North-West zonal Coordinator, Professor Samaila Sani Noma, said the institute embarked on the training as a way to improve agricultural productivity in the zone.

He called on the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity and acquire relevant skills from the workshop.

Earlier, on his part, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Professor Aminu Abubakar, described the importance of soil science in agriculture as unparalleled.

He, however, advised the participants to ensure that the training brings out a positive impact in their services to farmers.

Three papers were presented during the training which included: ‘Developments of Nano materials that can improve Water Retention in Sandy Soils’, which was presented by Dr. Jabir Abdulkareem from Department of Soil Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Others included: ‘Exploring the Predictability of Soil Minerals from Extant Soil Data Employing Comparatively, an Artificial Neural Network and Linear Regression Models’, presented by Dr. Shobayo Abdulrasheed, as well as a study of how Mycorrhizal Fungi can Improve Soil Health and Plant Productivity’, by Dr. Idris Alhassan Gabasawa.

Participants were drawn from different parts of the Northwest zone, comprising  Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina and Zamfara States.