Carry Out Proper Soil Testing – Cross River State Government

To achieve a bumper harvest in 2022 planting season, the Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has urged farmers in the state to carry out proper soil tests before planting.

Speaking at a day step-down training on soil testing and presentation of kits to farmers from various local government areas of the state in Calabar on Tuesday, Ayade said lack of soil testing as well as wrong application of fertilisers is deeply responsible for poor harvest of agricultural produce.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Jacob Udida, the governor noted that the poor harvest gave rise to food insecurity and subsequently increased cost of food in the country.

According to him, the training and presentation of the kits was facilitated by the State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) in collaboration with Nigeria Institute of Soil Science.

He said, “With this training and presentation of soil testing kits, farmers would now be able to test the soil, know the nutrient lacking and the type and amount of fertilisers to apply before planting. In additon to this, farmers will now be able to know the type of crop to plant in the soil.”

The governor, therefore, urged beneficiaries to ensure judicious use of the test kits, and help other farmers to improve on their production.

Agro Nigeria