Dr Olugbenga Adeoluwa, National Coordinator, Ecological Organic Agriculture (EOA) Initiative in Nigeria, says stakeholders’ synergy in organic agriculture practice is key to the growth of the sector.
Adeoluwa said this in an interview with newsmen on Saturday in Abuja.
He said the initiative would always sponsor and encourage organic agriculture practitioners to come together and form to synergy on how to move the sector forward.
“Recently, we had we a four-day “Train the Trainers programme’’ in Abuja and after that we had the EOA Northern Stakeholders forum.
“At the forum the stakeholders who were earlier divided into three Project Implementation Pillars were on ground to give reports and feedback on the activities of the practitioners.
“Pillar one is for Research, Training and Extension, Pillar two is for Information and Communication while Pillar three is for Value Chain and Market Development’’, he explained.
He said the pillars and their coordinators regularly updated a data base of EOA research which was used at national level.
“These database updates help us identify training needs for EOA actors by gender in the value chains in Nigeria and sensitise stakeholders about the recommended EOA curricula and training materials.
“It also helps to validate research findings in EOA practices as well as training of actors on value chain, seed production, post harvest handling and storage, among others,’’ he said.
He said organic agriculture was managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generation as well as the environment.
“It prevents significant risks by adopting appropriate technologies and rejecting unpredictable ones such as genetic engineering.
“Therefore, agriculture farming and consumption decisions should reflect the values and needs of all who are involved,’’ he said.
NAN