Mr David Emmanuel, an expert in agriculture and environment, has warned that climate change is depleting the soil nutrients needed for the cultivation of high quality food crops.

Emmanuel made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday 15th December 2015.

According to him, it is important for stakeholders to take concrete steps towards ensuring that Nigerian families are able to produce quality crops in the future.

“Taking a look at global warming, Africa as a continent isn’t prepared for the disasters ahead.

“Like in Africa, desertification is one problem. Others are gas flaring and cutting down trees.

“By so doing, the sun rays become a direct plague to the soil. For example, you cannot compare the tomato you ate 25 years ago to what is being produced now.

“We are living on gun powder as far as global warming is concerned”.

According to Emmanuel, the increased awareness on the importance of planting trees around homes and in the cities will go a long way to curb the increasing danger of global warming.

“The first thing is orientation from primary schools to tertiary institutions, so that every family and every child can grow a tree.

“By growing a tree, we will produce more oxygen in the atmosphere, and by producing more oxygen, we will prevent the sun rays from touching the earth directly.

“And at the same time we will make stringent laws that will restrain big industries, most especially in the southern region, from flaring gases.”