The United
Nations (UN) climate changes conference in Germany tagged “International Year
of Soils” has come to an end with scientist and environmental advocates
estimating that nearly a third of the world’s
soil is degraded, with the figure closer to two-thirds in sub-Saharan Africa, NaijaAgroNet reports.
NaijaAgroNet gathered
that the one week-long conference reports that 34 of Africa’s 54 countries have
over 20 percent in either the amount of land degraded or the amount of
population affected by land degradation.
Emphasizing
the importance of soil, NaijaAgroNet
gathered that the experts view the soil as one of the most important resources obtainable,
if not the most important. They further substantiate that it sustains all
our agricultural and livestock food production, wood for fuel production,
filters water so that we can drink it and fish can live in it, as well as useful
for construction – therefore sustaining our homes and infrastructure.
It further maintained as NaijaAgroNet learnt,
that in Africa, the issue of land
degradation (a decline in land quality caused by human activities) and
soil fertility decline is deeply complex with intertwining and cyclical
causes. These range from poverty, inadequate farming
techniques, and poor inherent soil qualities to population pressure, to
insecure land tenure and climate change, amongst other factors.
Stating
also that if these are issues are not addressed, the cycle of poor
land management will result in higher barriers to food security, agricultural
development for smallholder farmers and wider economic growth for Africa.
According
to Agriculture for Impact (A4I), an independent advocacy initiative, NaijaAgroNet gathered that the economic loss as a result of land degradation
is estimated at approximately N13.5 trillion ($68 billion) per annum.
It
further advocates that better land management practices could deliver
approximately N279 trillion ($1.4 trillion) globally in increased crop
production which is 35 times the losses.
NaijaAgroNet
also learnt that a 2008 report on the “Global Assessment of Land Degradation”
by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and partners offered some
shocking insights and surprises into the degree of soil degradation in
some African countries.
The
African countries on the UN watch list as NaijaAgroNet gathered would be the dry land African countries
around the Mediterranean and Middle East and relatively small areas in the
Maghreb and the Nile delta.
The
conference NaijaAgroNet
gathered, advocates that the rate of soil nutrient depletion is a factor that
must be considered when ranking which countries should be on the soil watch
list, as an important concern directly linked to food insecurity in
developing countries due to the intensification of land use for agricultural
production.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that 650
people from 80 countries gathered in Germany for the conference
that brought together scientists and environmental advocates to discuss
climate change’s increasingly hottest topic - soil.
Daniel
Nsolibe /Ed,Ops.
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