Ohio State University soil professor gets World Food Prize

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A soil scientist whose research led to improved food production and a better understanding of how atmospheric carbon can be held in the soil to help combat climate change was named this year’s recipient of the World Food Prize on Thursday.

Rattan Lal is a professor have the usual nutrients, including of soil science at Ohio State nitrogen, phosphorus University and founding director and potassium, but must have of the university’s depleted carbon restored by Carbon Management and leaving crop residue. This focus Sequestration Center. on soil’s physical properties

World Food Prize Foundation diverged from the conventional President Barbara soil fertility strategy in Stinson announced Lal as the 1970s, which relied the winner. The ceremony heavily on replacing nutrients was held online rather than by applying fertilizer. live in Washington because Lal’s research in the 1990s of concerns about the revealed that restoring degraded coronavirus pandemic. soils through increasing

“Dr. Lal is a trailblazer in soil carbon and organic soil science with a prodigious matter not only improved soil passion for research health, but helped combat that improves soil health, rising carbon dioxide levels in enhances agricultural production, the air by sequestering atmospheric improves the nutritional carbon. His analysis quality of food, restores showed that soils can sequester the environment and carbon at rates as high as mitigates climate change,” 2.6 gigatons per year.

Stinson said. His career has taken him

Lal has developed and to posts in Australia and Nigeria. promoted the idea that He has led soil restoration healthy soil must not only projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America, integrating no-till farming and use of cover crops, mulching and agroforestry to protect soil, conserve water and return nutrients, carbon and organic matter in the soil.

Though the concepts have been around for 50 years, farmers in developing countries are beginning to understand and implement his suggested practices. Lal also seeks wider use of soil conservation measures focused on soil health in developed countries.

“In the U.S. soil conservation is practiced only on a very small percent of the total areas,” he said. “It’s catching up, but I wish it could be at a faster speed and more area going to that kind of concept.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a videotaped message that a growing world population creates a need to improve agriculture productivity to feed more people. ---AP