By Aderogba George
Abuja – A farmer, Mrs Stella Iwuagwu has called on Nigerians to grow crops in their immediate environments as doing so will promote agriculture and strengthen efforts at ensuring food security.
Iwuagwu who is the Director of a private farm, gave the advice while conducting some journalists round her farm in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to her, individual efforts can collectively contribute to agricultural development and food sufficiency.
She said eating fresh food “helps build the body system and as such, people need to start farming in their respective little ways’’, adding that the kind of food people ate would determine how long they lived.
Iwuagwu called on Nigerian to eat enough fresh vegetable, which according to her, could be grown within the neighbourhood.
“Healthy food remained the best medicine,’’ she said.
She identified climate change as the biggest threat to food production in the world.
Iwuagwu said it was unfortunate that the country “is fast losing a lot of its traditional occupational heritage, especially farming.’’
She said that one other big challenge confronting farmers is the lack of electric power.
She said that the lack of electric power had compelled her to resort to the use of solar energy to be able to carry with her business on her farm.
The farmer further told journalists that many indigenous food trees and plants had started going into extinction due to deforestation, soil degradation, erosion, and poor farm practices.
She added that inappropriate application of fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic drugs had made farm produce harmful to human health.
“Our environment is littered with plastics and waste that could be profitably recycled.
“We have a teeming population of educated but unemployed young people, whose capacity can be built to become formidable resources for ensuring sustainable food, economic, and environmental security.
“We envision a Nigeria where communities sustainably produce their food and secure their personal, environmental, and financial statuses.
“Our mission is to promote sustainable development, food security, health and economic well-being through demonstration of innovative organic integrated farming,’’ she said.
(NAN)