Stakeholders Promote Smart Farming Technique, Target 10m Yams For Nigeria

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been advised to adopt urban smart agri- business to produce organic food and revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria.

Chief Agbaji Chinedu of Ezocha Farm Services Ltd, who launched a 10-million yam sack bag challenge for women who attended a practical session at the weekend on urban smart agriculture business, said Abuja has enough land to feed Nigeria and even the world.

Dr Jumai Ahmadu, president, Helpline Social Support Initiative (HSSI), who organised the event in partnership with Ezocha Farm Services Ltd and Teleosgrande Farms under the theme “Nutritional Organic Food Security Collective Initiative”, called on Nigerians to join the challenge to promote nutritional, healthy food security, sustainable urban agriculture and innovative farming techniques using limited space.

Chinedu also called on all Nigerians, especially women, to grow their own food at home rather than depend on farmers. This, he said, would change the narrative and solve the nation’s hunger problem, adding that “with the little space you have, you can grow what you eat.”

Engr. Francis Danlami, an agriculture expert, who gave a lecture on the yam sack bag challenge at the event, said that amid rising food insecurity in Nigeria, yam farming and its value chain offer a promising investment opportunity with the potential to generate significant returns.

He said Nigeria is the world’s largest yam producer, accounting for over 60 percent of global production, and that it has over 600 species of yams.

The participants, drawn from civil defence women groups, the Federal Ministries of Women Affairs, Education and Agriculture, as well as some civil society organisations (CSOs), were lectured on how value addition also enhances profitability, proper handling practices for cultivating yams in backyards through quality management.