The Federal Government, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and other stakeholders have begun a soil mapping initiative in the 774 local government areas of the country.

Speaking during the launch held in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Aliyu Abdullahi said the initiative – the Readiness Assessment for the Nigerian Farmers Soil Health Scheme (NFSHS) – was designed as a nationwide audit to map soil degradation, align public spending, and anchor Nigeria’s food security as well as climate-smart commitments.

According to him, the initiative will provide personalized Soil Health Cards and crop-specific fertilizer recommendations needed to improve food production.

Abdullahi said: “If we do not take decisive action, we will be unable to achieve the objectives outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0), the National Agriculture Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP 2022–2027), or the National Agriculture Resilience Framework.” The minister said the Readiness Assessment would provide federal, state, and local governments with a unified set of facts to guide expenditure.