The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) has said that it is establishing soil testing laboratories across the 44 LGAs of Kano State for better agricultural activities in the state and the nation in general.

This was disclosed by the minister of state of the ministry, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, during a sensitization and advocacy session held in Kano, which discussed the need to set up laboratories in each local government area of the state.

Represented by the state coordinator, Isah Isyaku Hotoro, the minister said the move is to identify the nutrient content of the soil and to know what to do with it in terms of suitable crops to plant on it.

“This exercise is very important in the sense that farmers need to know the nutrients of their soil to improve productivity of the soil and, of course, the economy from that soil. Over the years, we have been having issues with this kind of thing.

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“Farmers do not even know what and what to do to have optimum productivity from their farmlands. That is why we are making this move: to improve their productivity and their economic returns,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director, Agricultural Land and Climate Change Management Services in the ministry, Mr Oshadiya Olanipekun, who was represented by his Special Assistant, Ojelabi Taiwo, said the effort is to bring the laboratory services closer to the grassroots.

“They don’t need to travel to Abuja or Kaduna before they get their soil samples for analysis,” he said.