Envirumedic and ActionAid Nigeria, two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on Monday in Effurun, Delta State, said Agroecology was a key to help protect the environment against climate change and also a transformative approach that could galvanise a just transition away from a destructive conventional agriculture and food system to one that builds agricultural resilience.
The NGOs therefore called on farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector to embrace agroecology to help rebuild ecosystems, support localised fair food systems and strengthen the local communities.
Monday Itoghor, executive director of Envirumedic, who spoke at a one-day training on Agroecology co-organised by Envirumedic and Actionaid Nigeria, said the training was organised to create awareness on the importance of agroecology in the country and the need to embrace it.
Itoghor added that the training was also targeted at building the capacity of the stakeholders on agroecology as well as promote its principles for adoption by the people.
“The practice of agroecology will contribute to better management of the environment including water and land management. This training is for stakeholders but the main beneficiaries are the farmers in the rural areas,” he said.
He urged the participants to take advantage of the one-day programme to have a better understanding of agroecology and by implication a better environment.
Also, Azubuike Nwaokoye, who spoke on behalf of the ActionAid Nigeria, lamented that deforestation was one of the major causes of climate change in the country.
“The present agricultural practice has shown that Nigeria is fast indulging in the falling of trees and using of chemicals which has resulted to high rate of flooding, inundation of the coastal areas, food insecurity, reduction of arable farmlands among others,” Nwaokoye said.
Nwaokoye stressed that agroecology methods were effective noting that it has proven to be better than the conventional methods of farming through increased yields per unit area.
Responding, the participants thanked the organisers and called on the government at all levels to intensify awareness on the need to embrace agroecology to save the environment.
Agroecology is an innovative process that seeks to produce significant amounts of food by maintaining and enhancing biological and ecological processes through practices that minimize the use of external inputs, recycle nutrients, build healthy, fertile soils and conserve moisture in the agro-ecosystem.
