Sir, so much has been said and written about youths in Nigeria. While some describe them as layabouts, others see them as highly intelligent people who can work well with youths from other parts of the world.
While people are shouting about hunger and scarcity of food in the country, a young man in Ogun State, Sam Ogbole, has shown that given a chance and the right support, Nigerian youths can feed the nation.
In the remote part of Awowo village in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mr Ogbole has succeeded in transforming that sleepy village into a farm settlement that has attracted youths from over 28 states of the federation, including youths from the Republics of Cameroon and Togo, to live and study modern methods of farming.
The settlement, which can be called a town on its own, has a health centre, recreational and worship centres, residential quarters, and a host of other facilities, plus its own source of water supply. The unique thing about the farm is that different fruits and vegetables are cultivated there.
On the farm, one can get fresh cucumber, green, red, and yellow pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, and garbage, as well as fruits like pawpaw and pineapples, among others. The crops are planted to meet international specifications for export as well as local consumption.
The brain behind the Soilless Farm, Sam Ogbole, made it known that the farm started the work-and-learn program in September 2000, and so far over 10,000 people have benefited.
The attraction for establishing the project in the state, according to Mr Ogbole, is the peaceful and conducive environment, and he said although he used the free training to get workers who participate in farming activities, they are divided into groups and given start-up assistants to start their own farms after completing their training.
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One thing that is gratifying is that Governor Abiodun, despite his tight schedule, found time to visit the farm to see things for himself. The governor, who was spellbound by what he saw at the farm, took time to personally harvest some of the crops himself and thereafter announced that similar farms would be replicated in all the 20 local government areas of the state.
Going by the current scarcity of food in the country, the governor is of the view that the situation would be salvaged if Soilless farming is encouraged.
In a country where the issue of land has always generated concern, the adoption of Soilless farming would eliminate this as little land is needed to engage in cultivation. It also eliminates exerting too much energy as the African traditional farming entails. This is because technology is used, therefore the issue of depleting energy is almost non-existent.
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In China, it is said that most of the electronic gadgets we use in Nigeria are manufactured by the young people of that nation, and of course, they did not fall from heaven. If they can do it, I strongly believe that Nigerian youths can also do it.
When we look at information and communication technology (ICT) today, our youths are doing wonderfully well.
Even the so-called “Yahoo boys” can be channelled into positive use; after all, it is only a tech-savvy individual who can manipulate the internet to swindle. In the same vein, hoodlums ‘area boys that are all over the major cities and towns in the country can also be made useful through soilless farming. With this negativity, it can be turned into positivity.
Furthermore, soilless farming can be the saving grace for Nigeria to attend to food sufficiency, as it does not need experts in agriculture to learn the techniques required to go into it.
At this point, it is pertinent to call on well-meaning Nigerians to partner with the Soilless Farm Laboratory at Awowo village in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State to support the over 1000 youths who are currently undergoing a three-month training program at the farm settlement. Thankfully, these youths are from 28 states out of 36 states of the federation.
If these youths are engaged in the 28 states to cultivate crops using the Soilless farming techniques, the multiple effects will be overwhelming, and the issue of food shortages in the country will be a thing of the past.
Elijah Udofia, Laderin, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
