LAGOS, March 18, (Xinhua/GNA) – Nigeria will begin nationwide soil fertility mapping to boost crop production, Muhammad Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said on Tuesday.
The move was part of the ministry’s strategy to ensure the sustainable use of the nation’s land resources and shift toward food self-sufficiency, Nanono said in a message to a workshop.
The Minister said the last time Nigeria carried out soil inventories was in the 1980s.
« The country needs detailed soil surveys and soil fertility maps if we are to evaluate our soil’s potential for agricultural production, » he said.
According to the Minister, maps generated from such surveys will be of immense benefit to farming communities and land-use planners.
He said his ministry would focus on promoting site-specific fertilizer application techniques and blending of crop-specific inorganic fertilizer materials, which required detailed soil and soil fertility maps.