Food Security: Don Wants Greenhouse Structures In Institutions

A university don, Professor Ndowa Lale of the University of Port Harcourt, has advocated for the establishment of greenhouse structures especially in the country’s tertiary institutions as a way of boosting food security in the country.

Prof Lale who spoke to our correspondent over the weekend explained that the greenhouse comes about when we build and create an artificial environment to grow crops in.

According to him, the process which is also known as a glasshouse stores up the influence of out side temperature and humidity so that we create our own temperature and humidity different from the outside environment to make it suitable in such a way that any crops could be grown.

He said if the greenhouse was created and temperature and humidity manipulated within the greenhouse, crops of any type could be grown from January to December.

He said the greenhouse was for the production of basic food crops like cassava and yam but for vegetables like tomato, cucumber and onion you can “grow them from January to December once you are able to manipulate the environment”, he said.

The Professor of Animal and Environmental Biology said there were many private people who are into the greenhouse business.

He said due to the neglect of agriculture by government, they were indisposed in going into the business of greenhouse.

Government cannot deal with greenhouse now but ordinarily a university ought to house greenhouse.

They have faculties of agriculture and the facilities are not there and this is why they go on strike sometimes. They should provide facilities for us to work with.

“The facilities of agriculture need to have greenhouse because they are supposed to boost our food security since it is an all the year round production of the crop.

“The universities are supposed to use the greenhouse for research purposes particularly.

“In the end if is the citizens that will benefit.

“It is it country that will benefit because it is our source of food security”, he said.