Group promotes food security, trains Onitsha residents on home farming

The Onitsha Advance Foundation (ONAF) has intensified efforts to promote food security and healthy living by training residents of Onitsha on home farming, popularly known as Ụgbọ Azuno, to encourage household food production and self-reliance.

The training workshop, held at Ime Obi, Onitsha, brought together both indigenes and non-indigenes for practical sessions on vegetable cultivation, home gardening and small-scale livestock production.

Speaking at the event, the organiser, Mrs. Rita Melifeonwu, urged participants to embrace home farming as a sustainable way of producing nutritious food, reducing household expenses and improving family health. She explained that the initiative was designed to equip participants with practical skills to cultivate crops and vegetables at home, improve household nutrition and reduce dependence on commercially produced food.

A representative of the Home Economics Teachers Association of Nigeria (HETAN), Mrs. Nkiru Odikesieme, described Home Economics as the foundation of agriculture, stressing that every household could engage in farming regardless of the size of available land.

Odikesieme expressed concern over the indiscriminate use of artificial fertilisers in vegetable production, warning that excessive application could pose health risks. She encouraged families with limited space to cultivate vegetables using sacks, empty bags, plastic containers and other improvised planting materials.

“Everyone should appreciate the importance of raising a home farm and eating healthy food because you are what you eat,” she said.

She also educated participants on proper food preparation methods to preserve the nutritional value of vegetables, cautioning against excessive heating during cooking.

Another resource person, Mrs. Chinyelu Azikiwe, trained participants on small-scale livestock production, including rabbit, snail, fish, local poultry and goat rearing. She demonstrated how to produce affordable livestock feed from locally available raw materials and explained the use of herbal remedies for managing common livestock infections.

At the end of the workshop, participants received starter packs containing vegetable seedlings, cassava stems and planting bags to enable them to begin home farming immediately.

Some participants who shared their experiences said the Ụgbọ Azuno initiative had improved their household food supply, reduced feeding costs and encouraged healthier eating habits. They pledged to promote the practice within their communities.