By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The Federal Government has raised alarm over Nigeria’s worsening land degradation, revealing that the country loses about 24 million tonnes of topsoil annually due to erosion.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the unveiling of the Global Project – Soil Matters, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to food security and climate resilience.
Abdullahi stressed that healthy soil is vital for water retention, drought resistance and carbon sequestration, noting that restoring soil organic matter is critical amid increasing climate shocks.
“Over 70 per cent of Nigerians depend on agriculture, yet the country continues to lose approximately 24 million tonnes of topsoil annually,” he said.
He added that achieving the Federal Government’s food security targets under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda would be difficult without urgent action to restore soil health.
The minister noted that the government, in collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, had launched initiatives such as the Nigerian Soil Information System (NiSIS) to provide real-time data on soil conditions and guide fertiliser use.
He also highlighted the Coalition of the Willing, a multi-stakeholder platform designed to improve soil management through collaboration among government, farmers, researchers and private sector actors.
According to him, the Soil Matters project, implemented by the German International Cooperation, will promote sustainable soil management practices, particularly among youth and women, while supporting policy incentives such as tax reliefs.
Abdullahi urged state governments to adopt the National Soil Policy and prioritise soil as a critical national asset.
“No soil, no food; no food, no peace,” he said.
In his remarks, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Marcus Ogunbiyi, said agricultural transformation would remain unattainable without sustained investment in soil management.
Also speaking, Erkossa Teklu said the initiative aims to establish a self-sustaining soil management system in Nigeria, with key platforms expected to operate independently by 2028.
