Agriculture
Agropreneurs Want Commercial Vegetables, Fruits Farming
Experts in the vegetables and fruits subsector have bemoaned the huge loss accruing to the Nigerian economy due to a lack of knowledge and willpower to harness the potential of vegetables and fruits for commercial gains.
The Chairperson, Agriculture and Allied Group of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Mrs Edobong Akpabio, said vegetables and fruits are capable of sustaining Nigeria’s economy.
According to her, the country was losing huge revenue because of lack of food agronomic practices.
The agropreneur, who spoke in Ado Ekiti alongside other experts during the ‘3rd Speak Agriculture for the Future Economy’, with the theme, “Value addition in the vegetable value chain: The sub-Sahara Africa prospect”, said Nigeria is blessed in vegetables and fruits.
“In Nigeria, we are blessed with an abundance of vegetables/fruits, but because we have never harnessed our fruit strength into commercial gains, we lost the knowledge of fruit farming”, she said.
Akpabio continued fruits could be planted for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes. For commercial fruit farming, she said there are principles for productivity and profitability of that activity.
“There are measures to avoid pests and measures to ensure uniformity in terms of taste, colour, yield. But regrettably, our people do not consider these. That is why you see hotels import fruits.
“We need to now consciously and intentionally cultivate our fruits such that they are satisfactory to our market. Right now, we just take our fruits to the major markets and expect that people will buy them.
#We need to now get back and ensure that we work on our capacity to produce fruits such that they also add to our productivity and profitability as a country,” she said.
SAFE Summit Convener and the founder of Raise a Farmer Initiative, Mayowa Ekundayo, explained that Africa lost over 65 per cent of her vegetables and fruits to post-harvest losses.
He noted that value addition to the end produce remained a viable way out of the losses and means to enhance farmers’ economies.
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.