OCP Africa Promises To Assist Horticulture Farmers
THE OCP Africa, a global fertiliser giant has promised to assist horticulture farmers, to increase productivity, incomes and foster greater and better rural jobs.
The Country Manager of the company, Caleb Usoh, disclosed this during a Horticulture Training of Trainers ( TOT) Master Class, organised by OCP Africa, in partnership with Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture ( SFSA), in Abuja, for greenhouse managers, field agents and lead farmers.
To get Nigeria on the map for horticultural products, he reiterated that much must be done to improve the quality of cultivation as demand for fresh produce increases.
He expressed belief that horticulture empowerment would help to create muchneeded jobs, by improving access to technologies, knowledge and markets, strengthening technical and managerial capacity in the farming and agri- business sectors.
Usoh said the partnership is meant to groom growers and agro entrepreneurs to deploy greenhouse technologies to boost food security, exports and economic growth.
He noted that with the growing population resulting in a demand for higher quality products, food safety, stable supply and more up- scaled and sustainable production to address the challenges, institutions must join forces to develop a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector.
The country manager said that modern greenhouse vegetable production can provide an innovative solution to meet the fast growing demand for high quality, safe and sustainable produced vegetables, which are yearround available.
He said OCP Africa was working to transfer skills and know- how of controlled environment agriculture that can provide optimum efficiency, higher nutrient density and increase domestic crop production.
Usoh explained that its partnership with SFSA was a collaboration to advance shared goals of sustainable and secure food production.
He stressed that there were numerous areas where sector development and smallholder support were needed, as the challenges faced by farmers present themselves in various activities along the value chain.
According to him, the company has acquired greenhouses for its hubs located in 13 states, saying it has gone a long way in providing a diverse food basket to address nutritional requirements.