NISS wins 2021 World Soil Day award
By Olaseinde Gbenga – Abuja
The Nigeria institute of Soil Science (NISS) has won the 2021 King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award established in commemoration of the World Soil Day.
NISS was among the 48 organisations that contended for the award at the event held in Bangkok Thailand.
Also, in honour of its contribution to global food security and its activity to resurrect knowledge on the importance of soil health, NISS won $15,000 alongside the award.
This was made known in a statement on the website of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The statement read, “The Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) won this year’s King Bhumibol Word Soil Day Award (WSDA) for its commitment to raising awareness of the importance of healthy soils, particularly during last year’s World Soil Day (WSD) celebration, which addressed soil biodiversity under the motto “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity.”
The FAO pointed that the award was also in recognition of the institute awareness programmes, which pushed for larger participation in soil-related activities among teenagers and youths.
“NISS coordinated educational projects in primary and secondary schools, organized rallies, road walks, experts’ dialogue conferences, symposia, workshops, artistic performances (i.e. drama ‘Healthy Soils for a Healthy Living’, Poetry session), on-farm trials on sustainable soil management practices, screenings: “Do you know the dangers of eroded soils?” and FAO’s “Keep Soil Alive, Protect Soil Biodiversity”), and training sessions to reach out to all soil stakeholders in the country.
“The celebrations were widely disseminated online throughout the week and were relayed at the national level by six national dailies reaching around half a million people in Nigeria.
“The institute precisely laid emphasis on youth-enhancing children and teen knowledge on soils and their crucial importance for food security and climate change mitigation.
“NISS unveil that larger students seemed involved and encouraged to pursue soil studies as a future profession,” the FAO added.
