The Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) says it registered 419 professional practitioners and established Nigeria’s first legal register of soil science professionals since its establishment in 2017.

The pioneer Registrar and outgoing Registrar of NISS, Prof. Victor Chude, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a handover ceremony to the institute’s Acting Registrar, Prof. Bashiru Raji.

Mr Chude said the regulatory milestone was aimed at strengthening professional standards and improving the quality of services available to farmers and other users.

He said registration provided a framework for identifying qualified practitioners and promoting accountability in testing, laboratory services, research and land management.

Mr Chude noted that NISS had also distributed more than 1,800 testing kits and trained over 1,500 farmers and extension agents to improve access to reliable information.

He said the intervention was intended to take professional expertise beyond laboratories and provide farmers with information needed to make decisions on fertiliser application, crop production and management of problematic conditions.

“This is practical intervention connecting soil testing, fertiliser use, climate-smart agriculture and problematic-soil management,” he said.

According to him, NISS also promoted site-specific fertiliser application, climate-smart agriculture and management of acidic and saline conditions through on-farm demonstrations.

Mr Chude said the institute conceptualised and rolled out the ‘NISSAgro-Nig Soil SmartDevOp’ mobile application to provide digital agronomic information to farmers and other users.

He said NISS also championed the drafting and validation of the National Agricultural Soil Management Policy (NASMP).

Mr Chude said the institute had strengthened laboratory oversight through accreditation systems, inspections and verification of professional resources, while developing procedural and quality manuals for testing and fertiliser laboratories.

He said the institute had evolved from its establishment under an Act in 2017 into a national professional and regulatory institution, with digital tools and international partnerships.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Raji described his appointment as a responsibility and a call to service, identifying the discipline as critical to agriculture, food security, environmental sustainability and national development.

He listed his priorities as strengthening laboratory quality, accreditation and education; moving from registration to certification; adopting artificial intelligence (AI); expanding partnerships and research; and improving revenue and member services.

Mr Raji said NISS would encourage laboratories within the profession to adopt appropriate International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)-based quality management systems and good laboratory practices.

He said this would involve proper documentation, standard operating procedures, quality control, internal audits, staff development and continuous improvement.

Mr Raji also said the institute would support reviews of curricula, laboratory procedures and professional training to prepare practitioners for climate-smart agriculture, environmental sustainability, precision agriculture, data science and modern land management.

He stated that the NISS would embrace AI, digital mapping, remote sensing, data analytics and precision agriculture to improve practitioners’ efficiency.

“Technology should not replace soil science but rather make the soil scientist more capable, more efficient and more innovative,” Mr Raji said.

He urged young professionals to develop digital skills needed to adapt to changes in the field.

Mr Raji noted that the institute would work collectively to strengthen its regulatory and professional functions, with registration linked to professional development, certification to competence and accreditation to quality.

The ceremony also featured the presentation of letters of commendation to outstanding members of staff.

They include the Assistant Director and Head of Public Relations, Dr Fidelix Oleh and the Assistant Director and Head of Administration, Finance and Accounts, Dr Ilemona  Audu.

(NAN)