The Federal Government says the cultivation of climate-resilient crops and livestock will mitigate the impact of climate change in the country.
Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, stated this at the 48th Annual Conference of Soil Science Society of Nigeria, on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that integrated pest management, nutrient management, and soil testing and analysis would also address the issue of climate change.
The theme of the conference is, “Soil Health and Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Resilient Food Security System”.
The minister said that soil health was the foundation of sustainable agriculture, adding that climate-smart agriculture was essential for adapting to climate change.
He said that addressing soil degradation and climate change was a fundamental challenge for sustainable agriculture.
Abdullahi said that climate change posed an even greater challenge to the country’s arable land as was noted by President Bola Tinubu in his speech to the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
He quoted Tinubu as saying that the challenges to the country’s arable land hounded by desert encroachment in the North, rising tide of coastal flooding and erosion in the South and rainy season brought flooding and displaced multitudes.
“All these challenges require not just a change in tactics and approach but injection of new knowledge, innovations, skills, techniques, technology and value orientation.
“However, the solutions to these problems are within our reach. These solutions include climate-smart practices such as conservation tillage and cover cropping,” he said.
Others Abdullahi said are, agroforestry and reforestation, the cultivation of climate-resilient crops and livestock, integrated pest management and nutrient management, and soil testing and analysis.
The minister said that it was very important to prioritise soil health and climate-smart agriculture, encourage investment from the private sector, and empower smallholder farmers.