STAKEHOLDERS CALL FOR GOVERNMENTS’ SUPPORT TO IMPROVE ORGANIC FARMING IN NIGERIA..

Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have called on government at all levels to embrace organic agriculture to ensure the production of safe and healthy food for Nigerians and promote longer life expectancy.

They made the call at a programme organized by the Institute of Organic Agriculture, Agroecology and Sustainability, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State with the theme of the programme was “Right to Food Traceability.”.

Speaking at the event, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Okorie Ndukwe, said the faculty was fully committed to supporting initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture, food security, climate-smart production, biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods.

Professor Ndukwe called for stronger partnerships among stakeholders, noting that the challenges confronting Africa’s food system are too complex for any single institution or sector to tackle alone.

Also speaking, the Chairman, National Organic Agriculture, Professor Marcus Olayinka Olatunji, said the institute was established to connect Africa’s organic agriculture and agri-food transformation with the global sustainability, climate and trade agenda.

The Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Chucks Odemena, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Rose Kanu, said consumers have the right to know the chemical and biological contents of the food they eat through transparent labelling and safe farming practices.

Dr Odemena pledged the ministry’s collaboration with the Institute of Organic Agriculture to promote organic farming in the state.

Earlier in her address, a lecturer at the institute, Professor Nkeiru Meludu, said the institution had successfully cultivated more than fifteen crop species, demonstrating the viability and productivity of organic agroecological practices within the university environment.

Professor Meludu explained that the institute had also conducted a series of free training sessions for students, equipping them with practical skills and strategies for establishing farms modelled after the renowned Songhai farm approach.