PHOTO: Octavius Quarbo FAO and Gregory Tarplah, MOA
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the University of Liberia has begun efforts aimed at testing the soils in the country in order to develop the Liberia information soil system.
Experts say the Soil Information System is “an integrated, centralized information system that consolidates all the data starting from the survey, sample soil testing and analysis to final output generation for soil mapping and recommendation. It also facilitates effective monitoring…” information soil system – Search (bing.com)
The Director of Crops Resource Division at the Agriculture Ministry, Gregory Tarplah, disclosed that the testing of soil in the northeastern Nimba County has been successfully completed.
Mr. Tarplah made the disclosure when he spoke at the program marking the observance of the world soil day organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the University of Liberia with funding from the Food and Agriculture Organization in Monrovia recently
Director Tarplah, who represented the Deputy Agriculture Minister for Technical Services, Leelia Taplah appealed to the FAO for more assistance in order to expand the survey to the 14 other sub political divisions in the country in order to have a holistic Liberia Information Soils System
He commended the FAO for the assistance in the development of the Liberia Soil Information System and the University of Liberia for hosting the Liberia Information Soil System.
For his part, the Assistant Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Octavius Quarbo called for cooperation between the Liberian government and other development partners to develop the Liberia soil information system.
Mr. Quarbo, who represented the Country Representative of the FAO, Mariatou Njie, said there is a need to encourage young people to train more Liberians in the area on soil science in order for people to know the importance of the soil.
A cross session of the audience at the World Soil Day
“As we observe this year’s world soil day, we count on the continue partnership between FAO, the Liberian government and other development partners like the European Union, the African Development Bank, the World Bank and private sector actors purposely to accelerate efforts that are core to realizing the life on land goal of the Sustainable Development Goals and reduce poverty and hunger.”
“In Liberia this occasion marks a milestone observance, giving this level of formalities , inclusiveness and it is driven by practical experiences of soil management practitioners and actors , having participated earlier this year in a FAO-GOL soil data collection processes funded under the FAO technical cooperation program.”
According to him, with the primary data available for analysis, increased lab capacity as well as training and development of a soil information system, prospects are high for generating and sharing data on soil in Liberia to inform land use planning and the suitability for agricultural production.”
In remarks, the Dean of the William R. Tolbert Jr. College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Liberia, Leroy Cegbe, expressed thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Agriculture and the FAO for taking the initiative aimed at drawing public attention on the importance of the soil because it is source of life.
He also commended the FAO for partnering with the College of Agriculture and Forestry in many projects throughout the country.
The program, which was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is intended to create awareness on the importance of the soil and encourage young people to develop professional career in soil science.
The program, under the theme: “Soil, Where Food Begins,” was graced by a cross session of academia from the University of Liberia, the Conttington University, the William V S Tubman University, representative of the Central Agriculture Research Institute, among others.