Organic Agriculture Generates Huge Resources Globally – ECOWAS Committee

The Chairman Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Regional Steering Committee, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Ernest Aubee, says Organic Agriculture is generating lots of resources globally.

Aubee said this in Abuja at a twoday national stakeholders meeting on reporting achievements of EOA in Nigeria to the government and national stakeholders.

“ECOWAS Commission is promoting Organic Agriculture in West Africa.

“We, as a region, want to benefit from the high turnover in terms of resources so that our farmers can also benefit.

“Organic Agriculture is the best way to adopt because it is promoting sound health for the people in West Africa in terms of protecting the environment and enhancing livelihoods,” the chairman said.

Aubee said that most people were used to conventional agriculture, as such it would take a long time to convince them of Organic Agriculture which he said was one of the major challenges experienced in the practice.

He said that Organic Agriculture was a specialised way of farming which required certain standards, regulations and laws.

“A number of our countries in the ECOWAS region are working hard to have those laws, regulations and standards.

“The ECOWAS Commission is supporting them in the development of the standards,” Aubee said.

He said that for Organic Agriculture to thrive in the region, the emphasis should be on the small farmers.

“ECOWAS has projects in all the 15-member states to support Organic Agriculture.

“We also support various research activities so that the technology that is developed meets the requirements of the small farmers,” Aubee said.

The Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) Prof. Garba Sharabutu, while welcoming participants, said the council was in the vanguard of promoting Organic Agriculture in Nigeria.

Sharabutu was represented by the Director, Plant Resources Department, ARCN, Dr Oluwafemi Salako.

He said that the stakeholders meeting was to report developments of Organic Agriculture in Nigeria with a view to see how it can be enhanced and enlarged to ensure food security.

“We want to see how this meeting will better the life of every Nigerian,” Sharabutu said.

The country coordinator, EOA Initiative in Nigeria, Dr. Olugbenga Adeoluwa, commended all stakeholders at the meeting for their efforts to enhance Organic Agriculture in the country.

Adeoluwa said that the ministry of agriculture was working effortlessly to put up the draft policy on organic agriculture assuring that it will be approved very soon by the executive arm of government.

“We do hope that when this policy is out, Nigerians should be able to do the Organic Agriculture business well,” he said.

Mr. Salimonu Oladipo, a farmer from Oyo State, lauded the practice of organic agriculture describing it as the best way of farming.

“Organic agriculture is very profitable and sustainable, at least I have been practicing it for the past 10 years,” Oladipo said.

He urged the federal government to urgently roll out a policy supporting organic agriculture practices, as soon as possible.

Food network and chain specialists have harped on the need to create transformative business ideas that can increase better opportunities for food producers, ease participation for various levels of investors in supply chain activities and increase transparency and security for players on both ends of the market. With the theme “Disrupting Agriculture Trade Infrastructure,” AFEX, in its third edition of Code Cash Crop, said there should be support for the integration of agriculture, finance and technology.

The chief technology officer, AFEX, Yusuf Oguntola said, “We believe that it is essential to nurture a culture of collaboration and innovation, especially if we are to effectively tackle some of today’s urgent agriculture challenges.”

Oguntola also added that technology would be key in promoting a platform model for agricultural trade that could focus on providing access to logistics, advisory services, inputs, and markets, which are all key to the future of agriculture in Africa.

Chief executive officer and co-founder, Releaf, Ikenna Nzewi said, “It’s important to carry out a comprehensive research for solutions, especially technologies that are applicable to smallholder farmers, which should be tailored to their needs.”

CEO of Graeme Blaque Group, Zeal Akaraiwe, described how inadequate structuring is one of the setbacks facing agriculture.

He said, “There are significant risks in the agricultural sector and banks even though they are called risky assets don’t really like risks and the alternatives mean that they can deploy capital and make equivalent revenue with fewer risks and this is why they shy away from agriculture.”

Chief operations officer, AFEX, Akinyinka Akintunde said, “Code Cash Crop showcases the importance of fusing technology-led solutions along with agriculture and finance to create a better, connected and sustainable future for our food systems. The agri-tech solution winner, Prince Achoja, believes in a customer-centric approach to innovation and aspires to build an agtech platform called “Ma’aji-Noma.”

More than 200 submissions were made to solve the challenges in agriculture value chains, and more than N5 million prizes were awarded to the top three participants of the Ag Hackathon contest.

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