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The need for sustainable agriculture to meet the increasing food demand of Nigeria’s growing population, through climate change mitigation, has been stressed by the Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Adeola Odedina.
Odedina stated this at a one-day workshop on the effect of climate change on cassava production and processing value chain, with the theme, “Climate Change Effect On Cassava Production & Processing”, held in Abeokuta, the state capital.
He noted that, “to ensure food security, we need to understand the climatic changes around us and how it affects agricultural productivity and rural livelihood,” noting that climate change and global warming is the current global problem many countries are facing.
He said emission of green house gases is responsible for global warming and subsequent climate variability, saying that emission of greenhouse gases from gas flaring, bush and open burning, vehicle emissions, deforestation, and use of solid fossil fuel for cooking are some of the causes of climate change in Nigeria.
“The extreme climatic events such as flooding, extreme heat, and drought, have led to soil degradation which results in low crop yields. Decline in agricultural productivity discourages the farmers and may lead to change in livelihood, especially in the rural settings,” Odedina said.
Also, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), representative and Head of Component, Local Economic and Value Chains Development for GIZ-SEDIN, Mrs. Sina Uti-Wasiri, said the objective of the GIZ intervention is aimed at supporting implementation partner in improving the employment and income situation of MSMEs.
She noted that the programme cooperates with partners at the federal, state and local government levels, saying Ogun State GIZ is supporting the cassava processing and ICT/E Commerce Value Chains in its value chains component.
She said other intervention areas include access to financial services, building financial competencies, enabling business environment, supporting business development and promoting entrepreneurship.
Also speaking, Mrs. Kehinde Jokotoye, Programme Director, Ogun State Cassava Revolution Programme, said climate change is an altercation of weather condition over a long period of time, noting that rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and wind are parts of climate change.
Mrs. Jokotoye stated that climate change, attributed directly or indirectly to human activities, include but not limited to bush burning, deforestation, overgrazing, indiscriminate use of pesticides and fertilisers.
“Cassava is a major food crop in the tropics, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is a drought-tolerant crop capable of growing on marginal soils and this makes it one of the most important staple food crops grown and consumed in Nigeria,” Jokotoye said.
