Soil health protection to boost food production stressed

Soil scientists and officials put emphasis on soil health protection to boost food production and ensure food security to meet the gradual demand of rising population, reports news agency BSS.

To this end, all the field level agricultural officials and staff should work together to protect the soil health to keep up its productivity as defending soil health from further degradation is crucial, they observed.

They made the observations in a post-rally discussion in observance of the World Soil Day-2022 held at the conference hall of the office Chapainawabganj deputy commissioner on Monday.

The regional office of the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) and district administration jointly organised the meeting. ‘Soils: Where Food Begins’ was the main theme of the day this year.

DC AKM Galiv Khan addressed the discussion as chief guest, while Principal Scientific Officer of Regional Horticulture Research Centre Mukhlesur Rahman and Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension Polash Sarker spoke as special guests with Additional DC Ahamed Mahbub-ul-Islam in the chair.

During his keynote presentation, SRDI Principal Scientific Officer Nurul Islam said substantial and sustainable uses of required organic fertilisers in the farming fields are very important for boosting soil health and its productivity.

Plant and animal waste based fertiliser has a vital role towards protecting the soil nutrients which are being declined due to various natural and man-made catastrophes, he said.

There is no alternative to protect the soil nutrients from further declining trends amidst the adverse impact of climate change.

He urged the field level agricultural officials and staff concerned to motivate and encourage the farmers towards promoting soil test-based fertilisation to contain the soil health related crisis.

Mukhlesur Rahman suggested the use of organic as well as plant and animal waste-based fertiliser in Barind area’s soil for boosting its health as it is declining due to various natural and man-made catastrophes.

Protecting soil health from further degradation has become an urgent need to ensure food security of the gradually rising population in the country.

The chief guest urged the participants to make the best use of the knowledge acquired from the meeting in their professional fields properly so that the grassroots farmers can derive total benefits of the updated soil resource guide.