By Perpetua Onuegbu/ Deborah Olugbami
Abuja – Prof. Raji Akintunde, an expert in hydroponic farming says that hydroponic is key to sustainable vegetable production in the country.
Akintunde, a lecturer in the Department of Biological Science, Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara said this on the sidelines of the weeklong Technology Expo 2017 holding Abuja.
According to him, hydroponics has a lot of advantages among which is the cost effectiveness.
H-ydroponics is the practice of growing plants without soil whereby the plant is anchored in a growing medium such as clay pellets or rock wool, and then placed in a net pot.
The roots can then grow through the pot directly into nutrient-enriched water.
“Benefits of hydroponic farming is enormous, you need to employ very little labourers and you just need to develop the device once and maintain it for several years.
“The system can be used to produce fruit and vegetables all year round because you are not limited by seasonal factors of weather such as either rain or sunshine, you always have your crops throughout the year.
“We can have fresh fruits like tomatoes without resorting to canned foods with lots of preservatives.
“Imagine if you just put an ordinary tomatoes in a room temperature in less than one month it will be rotten but if you put a canned food somewhere for two years, it is still there but this is not healthy.”
Akintunde said these preservatives were what affect peoples’ liver and kidney thereby reducing the life expectancy of and Nigerians.
“Apart from the fact that we avoid eating foods that have preservatives, you are not using pesticides, fungicides for your crops.
“The utilisation of all these pesticides, fungicides chemicals can also have effect on our environment and eco system; in all hydroponics has come into Nigeria in a time when we dearly need it,’’ he said.
The don called on the governments and Nigerians to buy into the project so that it could be replicated across all the states.
“Government can also use it as a means of creating jobs for the youths, retirees can also embark on the project because it is not capital intensive and requires small labour.
“Where I studied abroad, the retirees there also engage in hydroponics farming and of course, they got a lot of money from it because you can grow your vegetables throughout the year and can harvest,’’ he said.
Speaking on the impact of the expo, he said the experience was good and he was really amazed at the number of creativity and talents that Nigerians could exhibit given the opportunity.
He therefore called on the government and business-oriented Nigerians to harness the harvest of things showcased at the expo to take Nigeria out of recession and grow the economy.
The expo is organised by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in pursuant of its mandate of deploying science, technology and innovation to provide employment, alleviate poverty and contribute to economic diversification.
Professionals from universities, polytechnics, research institutes and industrial research laboratories are participants at the five-day expo.
Others include inventors, innovators, science, technology and innovation entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors as well as selected Nigerian innovators from the Diaspora.
The theme of the expo is “Science, Technology and Innovation for Nigeria’s Economic Diversification.”