Precious Oham
A Professor of Soil Fertility Management, Professor Olufemi Julius Ayodele, has advocated for appropriate technologies, initiate and fund research studies to enhance crop yields.
Ayodele made the call while delivering the 71st Inaugural Lecture of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, at the University Auditorium.
While speaking on the lecture titled: “Fertile Nigeria, Infertile Soils and Fertilizers: A Tractable Nexus or Contraction?” he urged the relevant agencies to expedite solutions to the economic crisis in the country through enhanced technologies, high-productivity and sustainable systems.
He noted that greater attention and innovative studies by research institutions and universities on fertilizer-related topics such as technical, agronomic, socio-economic, marketing, environmental etc should be encouraged.
According to him, the thrust of the lecture is to seek solutions towards soils that are being continuously rendered infertile and how it can be reversed in order to nourish the very fertile Nigeria.
Ayodele posited that recycling organic wastes to fertilisers and technologies on integrated soil fertility management should be sold as raw materials for recycling in some industries.
“The appropriate technologies for land and soil water management, mechanization and soil fertility management meant to protect the soil resources from degradation must be developed to ensure their long-term use and sustain high crops.
“The various forms of wastes and those in other toens should be collected and sorted. The sorted metal and hydrocarbon (plastic and polyethylene) scraps should be sold as raw materials for recycling in some industries instead of the ongoing unofficial and unrecorded carting away in lorry loads to other states in free scavenging operations.”