Dr Olugbenga Adeoluwa, The Country Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) in Nigeria, Dr. Olugbenga Adeoluwa has said that organic farming does permit the use of substances that are foreign to nature.
Adeoluwa said this at the EOA Northern Stakeholders Forum in Abuja in Friday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that EOA, supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is an initiative which supports and promotes organic farming system.
“Organic agriculture does not use organisms or substances that are foreign to nature like Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), chemical fertilisers or pesticides.
“Rather, it gives farms and animals life conditions that correspond to their ecological roles and allow them to display natural behaviour,’’ he said.
Adeoluwa urged Nigerian farmers to embrace organic farming be enable them to benefit from all the benefits associated with the farming system.
“Some of the benefits include improved health and nutrition; organic farming causes little damage to environment and less cost for society, while reducing nutrient losses as well as erosion.
“It facilitates better water management, low use of non-renewable resources, safer working conditions and lesser risk of contamination.
“It makes efficient use of solar energy; it promotes production of biological systems, maintains and improves soil fertility, while maximising recirculation of plant nutrients and organic matter,’’ he said.
Adeoluwa said that the products and produce of organic farming were all guided by organic standards.
“Pure organic farming practice maintains its standard by the use of microbial preparations for pest management as well as the use of high-yielding but disease-resistant breeds of crops and animals.
“It also promotes the application of improved compost methods and bio-fertilisers as well as the introduction of efficient green manures, cover crops and nitrogen-fixing plants,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Isiah Adams, the Chairman of EOA in Nigeria, said that the initiative aimed at scaling up ecologically sound strategies and practices among diversified stakeholders.
“This we do through institutional capacity development, scientific innovations, market participation, public policies and programmes, outreach and communication as well as efficient coordination, networking and partnerships,’’ Adams said.
One of the participants at the forum, Dr Adebayo Olowoake, said that in spite of the challenges facing the promotion of organic agriculture in the country, the stakeholders were striving to ensure a healthy Nigeria.
“We are working to monitor and ensure that organic farmers adhere strictly to the rules of crop growing in the organic agriculture system,’’ he said. (NAN)
