Under the able stewardship of Honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. B. N. Tripathi, SKUAST Jammu, today celebrated the World Soil Day. World Soil Day is held each year on 5th December marking the importance of the soils in supporting life on earth. Division of Soil Science hosted an elaborate programme on ‘Caring for Soils: Measure, monitor and Manage’. Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Dr Anil Kumar, and renowned natural Resources Expert was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Dr. Anil stressed upon the importance of soils and encouraged the students to dwell deep into the world of soils. He spoke about sustainable soil management practices for climate change mitigation and food security. Dean Student Welfare Dr. S.K. Dwivedi, talked about the role of students in promoting awareness about the soils among the communities. Dr. Vikas Sharma, HOD Soil Science explained the origin of the World Soil Day with United Nations recognizing the importance of soils in supporting life on Earth. Since then, it is celebrated every year on this date to focus attention on the importance of soil health and to advocate sustainable management of soil resources. He emphasized that the survival of our planet depends on its invaluable link with soil. However, anthropogenic activities and climate change has led to degradation of soil disrupting natural balance and that we should come together at all levels to arrest this degradation. Dr. AP Singh, Head Agronomy and Dr. BR Bajya, interacted with students explaining to them the decline in soil health over the years and ways to mitigate. Dr. P.K. Rai, Professor Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry conducted the programme and shared valuable facts about the soils with the audience. Dr. Sarabdeep Kaur and Dr. Renu Gupta, Professors, contributed to the organization of oral presentations and Quiz competition on the occasion.
