American scientist laureate of Nobel Peace Prize gives public lecture at Moldova's Academy of Sciences

Chisinau, 5 March /MOLDPRES/ - An online public lecture titled, Agriculture, food security, health of soil and global warming, given by professor, laureate of the Novel Peace Prize (2007) and the World Food Prize (2020) Rattan Lal from the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (State University of Ohio, USA), took place at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (ASM) today.       

Attending the event were academicians from Moldova and Romania, scientific researchers from both countries, as well as students from various universities. In the beginning of the event, ASM president, Academician Ion Tighineanu said that professor Rattan Lal was member of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), nominated to this office by President of the United States Joe Biden.

According to the quoted source, the American scientist of Indian origin, Rattan Lal, is well-known to the scientific community of Moldova due to his speeches and public lectures presented on various occasions during the last years: at the Science Week, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of ASM’s foundation; at the ninth Session of ASM’s General Assembly from 28 March 2022; at the International Conference titled, Fundamental Sciences for Sustainable Development and Peace, organized by ASM on 28 September 2022, etc.      

In his lecture, professor Rattan Lal said, inter alia, that the human health depended, to a great extent, on the health of the soil. Unfortunately, the scientist noted, one third of all areas of soils in the world is degraded and the emissions of gas in agriculture annually increase by 1 per cent. ‘’The squandering of food products is of more than one billion tons, which accounts for about 40 per cent of all annual consumption. At the same time, the mankind is focused on three cereal crops (barley, wheat and maize). The annual cost of the degradation stands at 400 billion U.S. dollars,’’ professor Rattan Lal specified.       

Academicians Cristian Hera, Valeriu Tabara and Ioan Jelev set forth their opinions on the report. At the event, an ASM corresponding member, Boris Boincean, presented the project titled, The Resolution of Soil, thereby proposing the promotion of the soil from the steppe of Balti as object of Moldova’s heritage. He said that more scientists from Poland, Canada and other states backed this initiative.