Climate Change Depleting Soil Nutrients – Expert

Mr David Emmanuel, an expert in agriculture and environment, has warned that climate change is depleting the soil nutrients needed for the cultivation of high quality food crops.

Emmanuel made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, it is important for stakeholders to take concrete steps towards ensuring that Nigerian families are able to produce quality crops in the future.

“Taking a look at global warming, Africa as a continent weren’t prepared for the disasters ahead.

“Like in Africa desertification was one; (secondly), gas flaring; thirdly, cutting down trees.

“By so doing, the sun rays becomes a direct plague to the soil for example, you cannot compare the tomato you ate 25 years ago to what is being produced now.

“We are living on a gun powder as far as global warming is concerned. Taking a look on the hazardous effect threatens the health condition of people.

“For example, men need more of tomato juice or the seeds to prevent prostate cancer and at the same time if the nutritional value you are getting from one tomato doesn’t do it, it means you need a basket of tomatoes to get what you have gotten from just one tomato.”

According to Emmanuel, the increased awareness on the importance of planting trees around homes and in the cities, will go a long way to curb the increasing danger of global warming.

“The first thing is orientation from primary school to secondary school so that, every family, every child can grow a tree.

“By growing a tree, we will produce more oxygen in the atmosphere, by producing more oxygen; it will prevent the sun rays from touching the earth directly.

“And at the same time we will make stringent laws that will enable big industries most especially in the southern region in flaring gases.“

He urged government at all levels to continue to educate Nigerians on the need to shun activities that would be injurious to the environment and humanity. (NAN)

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