By Lekan Adejuwon
A renowned Professor of Soil Fertility Management Prof Julius Olufemi Ayodele BSc, PhD (Ibadan) has disclosed why he returned to the classroom after he had earlier rejected the idea after earning a PhD in Agronomy (Soil Fertility)
The erudite Ekiti -born academia made the disclosure on Thursday during the 71st inaugural lecture of the Ekiti State University EKSU.
He spoke as the guest lecturer at the occasion where he delivered his inaugural speech with the theme: ‘A FERTILE WORLD, INFERTILE SOILS AND FERTILIZERS’
In his opening address, the guest lecturer narrated his preference for corporate job after he left the university.
“I had chosen not to be a lecturer soon after earning a PhD in Agronomy from the University of Ibadan in 1980 but joined National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) Ibadan. In 1984, I left for Ekiti-Akoko Agricultural Development Project EAADP, Ikole Ekiti to take charge of Adaptive Research, Seed Multiplication, Agroforestry and Soil Testing”
According to Prof Ayodele, his exploration venture took him to take appointment with the National Fertilizer Company NAFCOM Onne in Rivers State where he rose to become Ag. Marketing Manager in 1987.
However, the company folded up in 1999 which hastened his return to his original constituency- the university.
In his inaugural address Prof Ayodele traced the origin of soil fertility to the scripture in Genesis 41:26-31 where Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream to mean seven years of plenty or food security which he describes as “An outcome of the typical nutrients relations in natural agro-ecosystems
“In those years of plenty, the land was fertile and supported huge harvests, perhaps with declining yield which became unimaginable after the seven years” he said
In similar vein, the guest lecturer says: “The recognition of agriculture as the greatest user of land and soil in all places and for all times relates to the roles in providing the sustenance for the origin and growth of the early civilizations and empires such that the Hebrews, Egyptians and Greeks cultures believed that human beings originated from the soil and that the land is a living entity which should be worshipped”
Prof Ayodele described soil as non renewable given it’s very slow formation process and the propensity of the topsoil to be lost within a year due to degeneration induced by anthropogenic activities, he however, opines that land, if properly managed can provide healthy soils which become reusable resources as the foundation of the food and fibre production that sustains the human population and the provision of life supporting ecosystems.
Explaining the technical composition of soil formation, Ayodele affirms that no two soils are the same as experimented through a classification system known as Soil Taxonomy which provides a hierarchical grouping and nomenclature of soil bodies into 12 soil orders.
FERTILE WORLD
Prof Ayodele speaking on the sub topic: FERTILE WORLD, said God’s blessings pronounced in Genesis 1:18 for the man to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth remained intact despite Man’s disobedience during the fall and eviction from Eden, but that the process of multiplication and fruitfulness would be with great sorrows after the ground was cursed.
However, despite the curse, the land keeps providing the food that sustained the man and his offsprings whose number has kept growing!
On the soil fertility, the speaker explained that the nutrients must be available in the soil in the required forms and amounts depending on soil texture and structure, water retention capacity, water draining ability, soil pH, organic matter content and nutrient release ability
