Accra, July 13, GNA – Ghana needs a soil
databank that would serve as a guide to government and all other developmental
partners to undertake various development projects, Prince Bagnaba Mba, President
of National Forum for Equity has suggested.
He said the soil databank would determine
where to site a project and how it would be carried out to ensure that it did
not create any havoc in the system.
Mr Mba who was speaking to the Ghana News
Agency in an exclusive interview on development on Ghana’s soil, questioned why
the country had Geologists to determine mineral-rich areas and yet were not
doing so for other areas of development.
“The Soil databank would help estate
developers to determine where to construct residential buildings with any
negative repercussions on the lives of residents and also determine, places
where bore-holes can be comfortably drilled in various areas.”
Soil Databank allows sharing of soil resource
data collected across micro-, meso- and macro spatial scales and different time
periods.
The data bank includes; physical, chemical,
biological, morphological, and taxonomic soil data from historic and current
projects.
Initial soil data have been provided by the
Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, but the data bank is
open to all users around the world and welcomes contributions.
Besides standard soil properties (soil
texture) complex biogeochemical soil properties (soil carbon pools, microbial
biomass) and soil-hydrologic properties ( water matrix potential) are provided
by various contributors.
Mr Mba said a country, where bore-holes were
drilled indiscriminately without recourse to the effects on flora and fauna was
a great source of worry and needed a governmental intervention and
rectification to ensure prosperity.
He urged Ghanaians to move out of the shelves
of politics and team up for issues such as; the national soil databank,
National Infrastructure Plan and African Transport Bank that would in the long
run serve and enhance the necessary development projects of the country and
beyond.
“Our Radio and Television stations are
inundated with politics of NPP, NDC and PPP everyday, and yet we really do not
find little time to deliberate on developmental issues, which would benefit
generations to come.”
Mr Mba said next generations would not benefit
anything if the current generation did not build any solid foundation in terms
of national policies and plans.
He said the soil databank would also guide
Agriculturists to determine the kind of crops to cultivate and where to do that
to encourage farmers to engage in farming activities of their choice.
“How will farmers know that a particular land
is suitable for the growing of yam, cassava, groundnuts, pineapple, cocoa,
coffee, beans or cashew if we do not have a comprehensive soil databank,? Mr
Mba asked.
GNA
GRB