A Professor of Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, Prof Lateef Taiwo, has warned farmers against use of excessive fertilizers and pesticides on the soil.
Taiwo, from Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, gave the warning during the Inaugural Lecture Series 365 at Oduduwa Hall of the University Campus, on Tuesday, in Ile-Ife.
In his lecture, titled, “Anthropogenic Disruption of Microbial Ecosystem in Soil: The Crisis Beneath Our Feet,” he said that the lecture draws the attention of farmers and stakeholders to the poisonous effects of excessive use of fertilizers.
According to him, in the past, the foods that people consumed were products of minimum tillage, saying that use of organic fertilizers was the norm as agro-chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides were not as ubiquitous.
“With the increase in the use of herbicides in modern agriculture, the problem of the negative effects of these agro-chemicals on soil microbes have generated more attention.
“Applied herbicides have been reported to be harmful to allochthonous organisms, disrupt the soil ecosystem and ultimately affect human health by gaining access into human food chain.
“Their persistence in soil has also been reported to affect soil fertility,” he explained.
According to him, pesticides residues can be found in soils a long time after application. This confirms that a shift in our practices is needed urgently, he warned.
Taiwo maintained that the soil needs to function well, but that some modern practices effectively prevent it from doing so, particularly the use of pesticides.
He stressed that pesticides do not just attack plant pests, but they also attack soil beneficial organisms thus weakening the soil’s ability to deliver its full contribution to plant protection.
“Everyone needs to take a deeper look at the long-lasting damages that pesticides cause to soils and what policy makers should do about it.
“There are a lot of activities being carried out in the soil and once the activities are disrupted, they will not be able to carry out the responsibility which God has bestowed on them and that would have adverse effect on food production.
“Especially when the soil that we all depend on is poisoned, the life of the soil which is the micro would be adversely affected,” the Don said.
He also lamented the lackadaisical attitude of youths towards farming. “Youths are not interested in farming because they see farming as tedious, time-consuming, unattractive and with low returns on investment.
“There is, therefore, more intensification of the agricultural practices by the few people who now cultivate the land.
“Intensive agriculture which comprises farming practices such as maximum tillage and the use of agro-chemicals is now the norm,” he stressed.
Taiwo advised farmers to stop excessive use of fertilizers and bush burning, charging them to also regulate the amount of Pesticides applied to their soil.
“All these activities disrupt the soil Microbial ecosystem, adversely affect soil fertility and food production in the country,”he insisted.
