Unity for Sustainability, Annapurna Media Network’s climate change dialogue campaign, in association with Save Soil, and VFX Talks organized a panel discussion on the topic ‘Soil and I’ in Kathmandu on June 5.

The event held at Nepal Academy Hall to mark the World Environment Day was aimed at raising awareness about soil degradation in solidarity with the global movement ‘Save Soil’ initiated by Sadhguru, an Indian yogi and the founder of Isha Foundation.  

More than 1,000 people were in attendance to listen to the panelists representing various fields. 

Govinda Prasad Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, spoke about the importance of soil and the current soil condition in Nepal.

He pointed out that there were good amounts of potassium and phosphorus in Nepal’s soil, but it was deficient in nitrogen content. 

“Nepal’s soil has 1.96 percent of organic content, which is less than the minimum organic content requirement (3 percent) for the soil to be considered healthy,” he said.

Bhawani Rana, former president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, it was high time that the private sector also came to terms with the effects of soil degradation and did the needful to save soil. 

“The private sector can do a lot to prevent soil degradation. It can, for instance, encourage agri-entrepreneurs and relevant government agencies to work together to maintain and improve the soil quality,” she said. 

Actor Rajesh Hamal said just acknowledging that Nepal’s soil quality is unhealthy was not going to make any difference. “It’s time to take action by assimilating the information and knowledge and information we have on our soil,” he added.

The panel discussion was moderated by banker Anil Shah. The program also had musical performances by Pushpan Pradhan, Pema Lama, Arjun Karki, and Manoj Maharjan.