Amidst outrage over hunger in Nigeria, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra State is demonstrating what Nigerian universities can do to solve the country’s food production challenges.
Increased insecurity, among other problems, prevents farmers in different parts of the country from going to their farms, and food shortages are an inevitable consequence.
However, COOU has undertaken initiatives in food, fish, and vegetable production within the university campus in Igbariam, Anambra State.
This initiative, led by the university’s Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kate Omenugha, has received significant support. In the last two months, the vegetables harvested from the university have yielded substantial returns for the institution, as staff, students, nearby colleges, the community, and vegetable sellers from around the state patronize the university.
Like most Nigerian universities, it sits on a large expanse of land and has a functional Faculty of Agriculture. A few months into her tenure, the Vice Chancellor, Kate Omenugha, asked for a review of possible agricultural activities that the institution could exploit as part of efforts to support Mrs. Nonye Soludo’s campaign for healthy living. Healthy living starts with what is cultivated and harvested.
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This also aligns with Omenugha’s drive to mobilize every resource available to the university towards solving real problems that positively impact the larger community.
Earlier, Prof. Greg Nwakoby, the former Vice Chancellor of the university, had introduced ponds for fish farming in the institution.
Unfortunately, the fish introduced to the ponds died under suspicious circumstances, and the former VC, distraught by that experience, could not continue with the idea. Upon resumption, Prof. Kate Omenugha revived the fish farm and extended the university’s agricultural drive to cassava and vegetables such as okra, waterleaf, pumpkin, turmeric, and others.
These coordinated efforts were supported by a borehole provided by the new administration in the university, with overhead tanks in the area designated for agricultural activities, ensuring a steady supply of water for constant production year-round.
As a result, the university now controls a significant share of the vegetable market around the university community and demonstrates that Nigerian universities can and should take on the hunger challenge.
By relying on the competence of their Agric Faculties, universities can lead a deliberate change in the food and vegetable production chain. Indeed, Nigerian higher institutions can become centers of action against food shortages and hunger, following the example of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University.
That Nigeria is going through a phase where hunger and food shortage is a reality is a clear indication of the failure of Nigeria’s relevant institutions to channel their energy and resources toward addressing the country’s problems.
In this particular case, if all Nigerian federal and state-owned universities, with a concrete presence in all 36 states of the federation, use their vast empty and arable lands for agriculture, not only will the country have enough to feed itself, but it will also be in a position to export large quantities of agricultural produce.
Additionally, the agric faculties offer professional and high-quality guidance, ensuring that the venture succeeds and triumphs over hunger and food shortage.
The good example set by COOU is a superior model that should be mainstreamed and supported by Nigerian universities, including private and other higher institutions, to leverage their comparative advantage in agriculture and flood every part of Nigeria with healthy food, fruits, and vegetables, among others.
A university with a huge landmass and knowledgeable agricultural teachers must apply what they know to solve real problems.
Instead of training students in agriculture and sending them out to solve food production and agro-related problems, which they often fail to do as many end up in unrelated fields, Nigerian higher institutions should lead the way in solving practical problems right from within the university.
Nigerian universities must be deliberate in providing real solutions to actual problems troubling the larger Nigerian society.
