Prince Bagnaba Mba, President of Forum for National Equity
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.
