On Thursday, Idris Musa, the director-general of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), called for robust environmental management plans to address oil-devastated land in Nigeria.

Mr Musa made the call at the 60th anniversary of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology (CPEB), Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan.

He said that governments and organisations must check human practices related to oil production, farming and deforestation to ensure effective management of environmental plans.

“Certain crops grow under certain conditions. If we now make everywhere arid or semi-arid, some crops will not thrive under direct sunlight. Selected crops need some kind of shade, like cocoa, coffee and yam, and as such, we have to be careful,” Mr Musa said.

Mr Musa further explained that the relationship between fuel and food was multi-faceted and inter-connected with various impacts on production and availability of each.

According to him, to achieve the vision of a food-secure nation, there must be a serious revamping approach to environmental management.

The deputy director of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Johnson Adetunbi, stressed the need for Nigerians to have a positive mindset about the environment.

He tasked young agriculturists with the present challenges in the country and found ways of improving their livelihood and contributing to the nation’s development.

Also, in his address, the representative of the Oyo State Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, Salihu Imam, said mass agricultural production was the first step in food sufficiency.

“The government should look for a way to reduce inflation and increase production, especially in agriculture,” Mr Imam said.

Harvestfield Industries Ltd CEO Abdullahi Ndaruba said there was a need to encourage local production and patronise locally-produced goods to reduce the pressure on foreign exchange.

Mr Ndaruba called for the effective implementation of policies and frameworks on environmental management and the use of biological materials in the production of pesticides.

“Also, there is the need for the enforcement of regulations by government agencies saddled with the responsibility of compliance and standards to ensure the safe use of pesticides in Nigeria,’’ he said.

(NAN)