Embrace Agriculture For Food Security, Prof. Eke-Ejiofor Urges Nigerians At UST
112th Inaugural Lecture
By Charity Uwakwe
In the quest to wage war against the extant food scarcity and eradicate starvation ravaging the country, a clarion call has been made to Nigerians, urging them to embrace agriculture, saying, it is the lifehold of the people.
A renowned Professor of Food Science and Technology, Rivers State University, Prof. Joy Nwakaego Eke-Ejiofor, (B.Sc, M.Sc), made this hearty call during the 112th Inaugural Lecture at Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), held Thursday, at the University’s Senate Building.
Eke-Ejiofor who defined food as “anything eaten or drank, that supplies energy and nutrients for development and sustainability of the body”, enjoined all hands to be on deck in the fight to ensure sustainable food availability, accessibility and affordability.
She stressed that the lecture had its focus on Food Security in Nigeria triggered by food processing and value addition for national development, while noting that attempts were being made to clarify food security, identify major challenges bedeviling food security in Nigeria as well as proffer possible solutions.
Speaking on the topic: FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: The Processing And Value Aided Solutions, Prof. Eke-Ejiofor explained that a collaborative work would aid in agricultural food security sustainability, which according to her, would result in “wealth creation, job opportunities, poverty alleviation and livelihood attainment.”
The erudite professor, while emphasising the importance of the food sector, explained that the food sector had the capability to generate more economic returns, thus mitigating the rate of reliance on the dollar.
“This means that the food sector has capacity to generate more economic returns, which will reduce reliance on the dollar. “
According to Eke-Ejiofor, the 112th inaugural lecture in no doubt, revealed alternative options for producing healthy and safe food items.
She bemoaned the glaring shortage and lack of food on a global scale, which she regretted had resulted in not only starvation and hunger, but also malnutrition, stunted growth, infections, as well as death.
However, she opined that in order to provide the energy and nutrients that are necessary for an active and healthy lifestyle, “it has, therefore become a global demand to secure sufficient food to make it physically and economically available and accessible (FAO, 2008).” She added.
Continuing, she said: “Food is a basic requirement of man than shelter and clothing. {t is the source of nutrients and provides the energy required for all activities of the human body. Food is consumed to satisfy primarily hunger, which is an unpleasant sensation and appetite a pleasant feeling that satisfies the craving of the body for food. Apart from these facts, food gives a sense of “Security” as people world over feel secure when food is in abundance. Food is a source of power as food terrorism has greatly increased insecurity; food is a symbol of hospitality and emotion.”
Furthermore, she maintained that among the numerous studies she embarked upon in collaboration with her team, was to harness converting waste to wealth creation.
On waste to wealth creation, she outlined that shells of sea foods which abound in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria, “at best used for road/building construction but can be harnessed to better use thereby converting them to wealth of great economic value because of their availability.”
Speaking further, she posited that “the objectives of the study was to produce food grade preservatives from locally available Shellfish such as periwinkle, clam and whelk and to evaluate their effect on the growth of microorganisms.
“Chitosan, a derivative of chitin found in shells of shellfish was produced by the process of demineralization, deproteinization, decolorization and deacetylation of the dried and grinded shells of locally available shellfishes (Figure 12). The shellfish used include periwinkle, clam and whelk shells.
She, therefore, used the medium to call for the establishment of food processing and value addition hub in the state and region to reduce post harvest food losses; participate more and be involved in Agricultural Transformation programs with other research agencies in order to strengthen food and livestock production that has economic potential for the school and beyond.
Moreso, among other recommendations, she appealed to the University, as well as other research institutions “to encourage more Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes for the commercialization of more research outputs”, pointing out that”this will guarantee economic development and positive engagement of other value chain actors at different levels”.
