Guyana has joined the global ‘Save Soil’ movement spearheaded by world-famous yoga guru and spiritual master Jagadish Vasudev better known as ‘Sadhguru.
Scores of Guyanese joined Sadhguru at the National Cultural Centre on Saturday to understand the role they can play to save soil.
President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, First Lady Mrs Arya Ali, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr K.J Srinivasa, several ministers of Government, members of the judiciary and of Sadhguru’s delegation were in attendance.
The movement being peddled by Sadhguru forms part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy. During his presentation, Sadhguru said the movement is about protecting the soil for future generations as keeping the soil alive is everybody’s business.
He explained that the lack of organic content in soil can lead to food crisis, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, climate change and even loss of livelihood.
To paint a vivid picture, he said that in a few years’ time, the world will be producing 40 per cent less food, which will be inadequate for a growing population. This is coupled with the fact that 52 per cent of the agricultural soil is already degraded.
The movement to save soil, Sadhguru said is aimed at educating the world on what is taking place and how it can be prevented. This, he noted can be done by ensuring there is at least three to six per cent of organic content remaining in the soil, bringing the land under shade from vegetation and enriching the soil through plant litter and animal waste.
While Guyana is in a good position at present, Sadhguru encouraged the country to keep its guard up and continue to preserve this necessary resource.
Earlier on Saturday, President Ali and the First Lady hosted a breakfast reception at State House for Sadhguru. He was accompanied by popular Trinidadian soca artiste, Machel Montano, who is a practising yogi.
This was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, M.P, to preserve Guyana’s soil.
‘Save Soil’ is a global movement launched by Sadhguru, to address the soil crisis by bringing together people from around the world to stand up for soil health, and supporting leaders of all nations to institute national policies and actions toward increasing the organic content in cultivable Soil.
Supporting partners include the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UN Environment Programme – Faith for Earth, World Food Programme, Partnerships For Change, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Global Citizen Forum.
