Agriculture
Ecological Farming, Panacea For Food Insecurity
The practice of ecological farming is the only way to feed the ever growing population of the world, a German farmer, Virich Meyer has said.
Meyer said this when a group of Journalists from Africa and Asia visited his 42-hectare Domane Hochburg ecological farm in Freiburg’s Black Forest located in the South-west part of Germany.
According to him, ecological farming is a form of agriculture that ensures healthy practice by protecting the soil, water and climate as well as promoting the biodiversity.
He said this form of agriculture did not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or genetic engineering like conventional or traditional agriculture.
Meyer however urged farmers especially those from Asian and African countries to look beyond traditional farming and embrace ecological farming to address hunger in their continents.
“ The future for agriculture in the world is ecological farming; it is a higher way of practicing agriculture and a way of going back to how our ancestors were doing it.
“This type is different from conventional way of farming, but ecological farming relies on and protects nature by taking advantage of natural resources,’’ he told the Journalists.
He noted that natural resources such as biodiversity, nutrient cycling, soil re-generation, pests, if integrated into agro-ecological systems, could ensure food for all and for future.
According to Meyer, it is against the practice of ecological farming to administer vaccines on animals noting that the best environment is needed for the animals to be productive.
The farmer said the benefits of ecological farming included the ability of communities to provide food for themselves and ensuring a future for healthy farming and food to people.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.