Communique of the 47th annual conference of the Soil Science Society of Nigeria held at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, from 19TH – 23RD september, 2023

1. PREAMBLE

The Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN) held its 47^th annual conference at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 September 2023. The theme of the Conference was Tropical Soil and Water Resources Management: Climate Change Mitigations for Functional Ecosystem Services and Food Security. This theme indicates the intimate relationship existing between soil, water and climate and that any mismanagement of one could be detrimental to others. The opening ceremony took place at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium of the UNN. The welcome address was presented by the Chief Host and Vice-Chancellor, UNN, Professor Charles A. Igwe, who doubles as a member and fellow of the Society. In his address, the Vice-Chancellor warmly welcomed all members of the Society and non-member participants to UNN, the lion’s den. The Vice-Chancellor of UNN and Chief Host, Prof C. A. Igwe, declared the conference open while the opening remarks came from the LOC chairman, Prof. C. L. A. Asadu. The Conference featured, among other activities, presentation of keynote address and lead papers during the opening ceremony when awards were presented to some deserving members and corporate organizations. Also, research findings in over 250 papers were presented in the subsequent technical sessions.

1. PARTICIPANTS

The Conference was hybrid with physical and virtual participation; the participants comprised over 300 full and student members of the Society and their collaborators and sponsors. Many dignitaries were in attendance including the president-elect of International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), Prof. Victor O. Chude, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security; Dr. Ernest A. Umakhihe, ably represented by the Director of Agricultural Land & Climate Change Management Services (ALCCMS), Mr. O. O. Oshadiya; President of SSSN, Prof. Jibrin M. Jibrin; President & Chairman of Council, Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS), Prof. Ayoade O. Ogunkunle; and the Pioneer Rector, Ekiti State Polytechnic, Prof. Johnson K. Adesodun. Other prominent dignitaries in attendance were former President of SSSN, Prof. Walter O. Enwezor and the immediate past President of SSSN, Prof. Bashiru A. Raji. Corporate bodies were also represented among which were Indorama and OCP.

1. HIGHLIGHTS

The Conference identified many soil-related problems affecting climate change, functional ecosystem services and food security in Nigeria. These included:

• a reduction in land area available for agriculture;
• seasonality of agricultural production due to the prevailing tropical climate;
• high degradation status of most Nigerian soils by high soil acidity;
• rapid decline in soil fertility due to accelerated erosion and excessive leaching;
• the highly weathered status of the soils compounded by poor levels of soil and water conservation and management;
• rising trend of less attention to field work in favour of modelling;
• reductions in crop yields and hence farm incomes due to climate change; and
• mass displacement and unabated migration of humans leading ultimately to mass unemployment.

1. RESOLUTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

The Conference recognized earlier interventions by the Government, corporate bodies and individuals in addressing the problems faced by the quest for functional ecosystem services and food security. Some of these interventions include creation of new departments saddled with the responsibility of understanding the peculiarity of our tropical soils and how best to manage them. These efforts notwithstanding the Conference rose to make the following recommendations:

1. The need to update the soil fertility map of the different agro-ecological zones of Nigeria based on field studies.
2. The need to promote farming practices that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
3. The need to promote ecosystem and human health through organic agriculture.
4. The need for capacity building and training of stakeholders in soil, water and climate management.
5. The need for a system of documentation of the negative impacts of our various activities on the environment and climate as well as the severity of such impacts.
6. There is an urgent need to resuscitate and equip existing soil laboratories and provide functional soil testing kits.
7. There is a need to revamp the existing dysfunctional irrigation schemes in the country and extend the scheme to all the geo-political zones of the country.
8. There is also a need for NISS to increase its efforts toward establishing zonal soil laboratories in the six geo-political zones of the country.
9. There is a need to establish demo-plots on feasible technologies for effective soil and water management across the country.

Appreciation

The Society hereby appreciates the warm reception accorded to participants at the Conference by the management of UNN ably led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. C.A. Igwe, the Faculty of Agriculture of UNN, and the Department of Soil Science which made the 47^th Annual Conference of the Society a success.

Prof. Jibrin M. Jibrin, FSSSN (President)                 Dr. Jude C. Obi (Secretary)

Dated this 23^rd day of September, 2023

Members of the Communiqué Drafting Committee

Prof. E. O. Onweremadu

Prof. S. E. Obalum

Dr. G. U. Nnaji

Dr. A. O. Onunwa