Experts have urged farmers in Nigeria to adopt organic farming and agroecology to create food that will nourish customers and sustain the planet in the wake of the country’s severe ecological degradation and biodiversity issues.
In Afaha Nkan, Ikono Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, the Director of Programmes for the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Joyce Brown, led a practical workshop on AgroEcology for farmers.
encouraged farmers to support agricultural production methods that make use of organic processes, she
given them information into the risks of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Brown said his group has been outspoken in its opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are engineered into plant species for human use.
She also voiced concern for farmers who rely too heavily on synthetic products like fertilizer and pesticides, elaborating on how agroecology’s use of mixed cropping can lessen the occurrence of pest assaults and boost the quality of the surrounding ecosystem.
She explained that the purpose of the training was to provide farmers with the skills they needed to implement agroecology and produce food of sufficient quality and quantity to sustain the population. We can observe how farmers’ reliance on inorganic pesticides contributes to the worsening of health conditions and the depletion of soil quality.
We’re fighting against GMOs because of the harm they could do to our bodies and our planet. We urge farmers to transition to organic practices and stop using harmful chemicals. Mix cropping is something we encourage as it helps keep pests at bay. Farmers can cease using inorganic fertilizer, which can have negative impacts on our land and human health, and instead use chilly, cow pee to manufacture organic fertilizer and bio insecticides.
Farm Manager of Operations for Be the Help Foundation, Chukwu Agozirim, also spoke, highlighting the fact that chemical residues in the foods people eat are harmful to their health and shorten their lives.
He said that organic farmers would be able to increase their food yields without resorting to harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which would be necessary if the problem were to be eradicated.
There is an absolute requirement to maintain a healthy diet because it is the only way to do so. The chemical residue left in the body after eating food raised with inorganic fertilizers is harmful to health and shortens life expectancy. Therefore, we must adopt organic farming practices in order to boost soil fertility, agricultural output, and climate change mitigation efforts.
Despite his praise for HOMEF’s efforts to educate farmers, Agozirim called on the federal government to outlaw the import and use of some dangerous chemical pesticides, urging local farmers to switch to organic farming methods.
