A memorandum supporting an Act to establish the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science delivered by the National President. Prof. Vioctor Chude at the public hearing.

Distinguished Senators, Fellows and members of SSSN, stakeholders and gentlemen of the press. The Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN), founded in 1968 is a registered member of the International Union of soil science. The society aims at promoting and fostering better understanding of basic and applied soil science in Nigeria.

The society also strives to enhance dissemination of knowledge in all aspects of soil science and share ideal with national and International societies through conferences, symposia, lecture, seminars and journal publication. For over four decades, the soil science of Nigeria has made it its cardinal duty to unleash the potentials of Nigeria’s soil through surveys and land evaluation/ capability studies for sustainable agricultural production of food and fibre, professional management and conservation of Nigeria’s soil and rehabilitation of polluted soils and water bodies after oil spills, gas effluents and industrial wastes. We also participate in the Federal Ministry of Environment project on reclamation of devastated erosion gullies and curbing of desert encroachment in Nigeria. In the area of capacity building and human development, the soil science society of Nigeria is at the forefront in encouraging the production of brilliant soil scientists who later hold enviable national and international positions. Our soil fertility and plant nutrition experts rank among the world’ best and have over the decades produced numerous publication such as the fertilizer use and management practices for crops in specific soils in Nigeria for Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Nutrient Response Maps for Nigeria soils, Manuals on soil fertility assessment, soil test based fertilizer recommendations for Extension workers etc. our experts have developed packages for the use of Nigerian phosphate rocks commercially abundant in Sokoto and Ogun states as viable substitutes for imported expensive phosphate fertilizer and have perfected the use of urban refuse as organic fertilizer now applied national wide in Nigerian agriculture. Nigeria soil scientists are fully involved in land use planning and management and in the use of Geographic information system for enhanced agricultural productivity in Nigeria.

Justification for the establishment of NISS
The Society through the Bill 2014 (SB89) is seeking for an enactment of a law to establish its professional arm to be known as Nigeria Institute of soil science which will represent and promote the interest of soil science as a career and professional activity. The following reasons could be adduced fro the establishment of the Nigeria Institute of soil science.

1.    Soil ios the resource base for agriculture and forestry. While there are National Institutes concerned with the regulation and practice as well as research into animal science, crop science, as well as forestry, there is no such Institute to cater for soil science. The ‘disconnect’ needs to be rectified through the establishment of the Nigeria Institute of soil science.

2.    Soil science is a specialized discipline that can only be practiced by appropriately and adequately qualified and experienced scientists and engineers. Nigeria therefore, requires an accredited certification body authorized to issue professional certification of competency or authority to soil scientists and consultancy contractors to enable them participate in soil based projects in agriculture, forestry, industry, recreation and engineering construction work.

3.    The Institute would serve as a one stop shop for information on soil research in Nigeria. At the moment, there is no central place ( a kind of reservoir) where information on soils and soil research in Nigeria is domiciled. Anybody looking for information on soil has to go to Polytechnic and university departments and laboratories scattered all over the country. The establishment of the institute would ensure the availability of such information in a central place.

4.    The first step in the science use of the soil is to produce crop and soil capability and suitability maps after a soil survey exercise. Nigeria at the moment does not have a detailed soil capability and suitability maps on a national basis. The dearth of such information has greatly hampered optimal use of soil resources and by extension, agricultural production. The Institute working with the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant international organization will fill this gap in soil information.

5.    One of the cardinal programme of the Federal Government is the transformation of the agricultural sector. This would greatly reduce unemployment both directly and through the stimulation of ancillary activities. Since soils play a crucial role in agricultural production, the extablishment of an Institute would have a trans-sectoral effect a as soil data are also useful to engineering science, especially civil engineering.

6.    The quantity of imported agriculture inputs is best determined by authorized soil laboratory which itself must be subject to control and accreditation in keeping with best practices in accurate analytical data generation. The Nigeria Institute of soil science is poised to ensure that soil science practitioners in Nigeria uphold the ethics of the profession and guarantee the sustainability of high quality soil. So it will be the bounding duty of the Institute to promote rapid sustainability of high quality soil through scientific method and regulate all issues pertaining to soil management in Nigeria.

7.    The Institute will provide some support services such as capacity building and refresher courses for farmers in land use, soil and fertilizer management in cooperation with other development partners towards achieving sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.

8.    The massive nationwide soil degradation caused by soil erosion, flooding and water-logging, sodicity and alkalinity, deforestation and desertification among many other factors recorded by FAO (1992) and more recently, by Federal Ministry of Environment (2010) will be stemmed progressively with the extablishment of the Institute.

9.    Better land use and soil management nationwide accruing from the dynamic work of the Nigerian Institute of soil science will have far-reaching effects on raising agricultural productivity, farm income and living standards substantially, especially in the rural areas where most of us live.

10.    There is presently no well defined link between teaching and research institutions and the Federal and state Ministries of Agriculture on policy formulation relating to fertilizer use and soil management. This Institute when enacted into law will provide this most desirable linkage.
Similar Institutes in other countries
Many advanced and some third world countries have well established institutes of soil science or an extablishment with the same or similar functions. Examples are: Soil Quality Institute of the USDA, Dockuchaev soil Institute in Russia, Soil science institute/ Academy in Germany, China, Korea, India and even Ghana’s soil research Institute.

Conclusion
Mr. chairman, distinguished Senators, other members of the National assembly here present, my fellow soil scientists, stakeholders in agriculture, ladies and gentlemen, the establishment of the Nigeria Institute of Soil science (NISS) is imperative and desirable and should be supported to further ensure the security of food for the nation through adequate soil management, environmentally friendly fertilizer use and modern agronomic practices. The time to put this structure in place is now.
However, Prof. Chude has expressed appreciation the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, President Senate President and senate committee chairman on Agriculture for ensuring positive movement of the bill to next stage.