A University don, Prof. Polycarp Nwoha, has advocated increased local food production as a panacea for the rising costs of food items in the country.
Prof Nwoha stated this on Thursday at the official ground breaking ceremony of a five acre mass of land for agriculture by the Greater Mbaise Farmers Club at Ekwereazu town, Ahiazu Mbaise council area of Imo State.
The Club which was established in 2019, is a cooperative of farmers in and around the Aboh, Ahiazu and Ezinihitte Mbaise council areas of the state, whose aim is to combat hunger and ensure food security.
Nwoha, a professor of human anatomy with the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, said that the time had come for Nigerians to fully embrace and invest in local food production to address the hunger crisis facing the nation.
“We intend to fill the gap in food production and exports for the Mbaise nation and Imo at large, especially as Nigeria battles inflation, with the cultivation of viable crops.
“Ekwereazu has been chosen as kick-off location because of its fertile soil and the hospitality of the locals, so we have already acquired over five acres of farmland and we are confronting this issue of hunger and food scarcity before it becomes too late,” he said.
He added that the club had organised seminars and public enlightenment campaigns since 2019 before the official launch of the farm.
He urged indigenes of Ekwereazu town to be good hosts and ambassadors to the project so as to make the town an agriculture hub that would place them on the food map of the world.
Speaking at the event, the traditional ruler of the town, Eze Paulinus Anosike, advised the farmers to be committed to the project and not despise their days of little beginning.
“Philosophically and spiritually, every wealth is made from the soil, this is why we must embrace, not just primary agriculture but also the secondary stage which involves the agricultural value chain.
“May food be produced, processed, packaged and be exported from Ekwereazu town,” he prayed.
Also, Rev. Fr Pius Anyanwu of the Ahiara Catholic Diocese described farming as an employment generator which had replaced white collar jobs with green collar jobs, capable of providing over 50 per cent of local consumption and reducing the incidence of cancer and other diseases.
Anyanwu described farming as neither difficult nor dirty, and urged the club to think towards mechanised farming to attract young persons to the venture and achieve the desired results.
The cleric also encouraged the farmers to plant more of economic trees that would return income than the regular forest trees which only serve as wind breaks and sources of firewood.