BINTULU: A total of 168 participants from 14 countries including the Malaysian delegates from the University Putra Malaysia (UPM),University Sultan ZainalAbidin Terengganu (UNISZA), University Malaysia Sabah (UMS),University Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS),University Malaya (UM) and University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) attended a four-day International Conference on Sustainable Soil Management : Quality Soil Drive Productivity (SOILS 2017) held a leading hotel Tuesday.
SOILS 2017 was jointly organised by the Malaysian Soil Science Society and University Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus.
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) UPM, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Husaini Omar officiated at the Conference.
“Soil is a vital part of the natural environment. It influences the distribution of plant species and provides habitat for various organisms, the flora and fauna, as well as supports the growth of agricultural crops,” said Husaini.
This is the first time ever that the conference opens its participation worldwide, attracting key players and researchers in soil science.
Husaini further added that soil is the medium for feeding the world’s population, but undoubtedly at the expense of its quality.
“Therefore, there is a need to maintain healthy soils that demand care and effort to ensure fertility and productivity. Soil-related tragedies have repeatedly reminded us that without sustainable soil use and practices, devastating impacts will not only implicate us now, but also our future generations to come,’ he added.
Among the objectives of the conference were to encourage meaningful knowledge transfer through scientific conversant that would cater soil’s issues and problems, nationally and internationally; to share recent information on soils and appropriate technologies vis a vis sustainable crop production and to provide future direction for organised activities on soils.
There will be a post-conference tour, which involves hands-on experience on soil sampling and analysis, particularly of Borneo soils that may be unique and interesting.
Earlier, Dr.Wan Rasidah Abdul Kadir, President of Malaysian Soil Science Society (MSSS) spoke on the vital roles of soils in tackling the primary environment, health and social problems that have been identified.
Apart from Malaysia, among other participating countries included Turkey, Korea, South Africa, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Nigeria, Philippines, Iran, China and Brunei Darussalam.
Besides the seven local Universities, among the 12 participating International Universities were University of Harran, Turkey; Banaras Hindu University India; Zhejiang University Republic of China; Universitas Halu Oleo and Andalas University Indonesia; Federal University of Technology, Nigeria; Isabela State University; Bangladesh Agricultural University; University of the Philippines Los Banos; Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Minia University Egypt and Bingol University.
Among those present were Dr. Zamri Rosli, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus; Dr. Wan Asrina Wan Yahaya, Chairman of the International Conference on Sustainable Soil Management (SOILS2017); heads of department, delegates and participants.
