The need to boost the production and consumption of underutilized indigenous crops to help achieve food security in the Southeastern region of Nigeria formed the crux of the 11th Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Lecture Series.
The lecture appealed to the people of the Southeast to return to the crops that helped the people of old live long and healthy lives.
Dr Ogechukwu Umeh, a lecturer in the Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, presented at the university auditorium.
In the lecture with the theme “Improving Under-utilized crops in South-eastern Nigeria: A Panacea for food security,” Umeh regretted that the indigenous crops with their nutritional, medicinal, and economic values have been neglected for far too long.
Umeh, also the third Genuises Lecturer of the Faculty, regrettably noted that people of the region have allowed imported foods like rice, etc., genetically modified foods (GM Foods), and processed spices in diverse forms to displace their Indigenous delicacies.
She posited that the region’s forefathers lived long and healthy because they depended on indigenous foods, saying the people must return to them as a panacea for food security and to prevent some health challenges not known to the people of old.
Umeh, a distinguished Nigerian academic and researcher specializing in Agriculture, called for a well-structured seed bank in the Department of Crop Science and Horticulture to conserve and preserve the genetic diversity of Indigenous crops while stressing the need to make seeds of Indigenous crops available to farmers across the region.
She said, “There is a need for increasing research into underutilized indigenous crops to identify their potential, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. Findings from such research must be published in reputable journals and disseminated to the public through the religious organizations, NGOs and agricultural cooperatives to raise awareness about the importance of these crops.
“Indigenous food restaurants should be established in all universities in Southeast Nigeria and free rentage given to such establishments.”
Dr Umeh appealed to school management to enact laws allowing locally made foods to be served in conferences, workshops, and seminars organized at any university in Southeast Nigeria.
The Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Joseph Ikechebelu, represented by the Director of Academic Planning, Prof Angela Ufele-Obiesie, had earlier lauded the Faculty of Agriculture for its huge contribution to the quest for food security in the Southeast region and Nigeria.
“It’s my pleasure always to be here. I urge you to keep up the good works you are doing to advance the quest for food security. We will keep supporting you in all ways possible”.
The Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Cordelia Ebenebe, noted that the faculty, despite being one of the youngest (14th among 17 faculties) in UNIZIK, parades brilliant brains who can compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Gabriel Ihejirika, observed that the lecture is structured to spark transformative conversation and innovative ideas for solving pressing societal challenges, saying, “It’s an era where food insecurity continues to challenge our communities and threaten our collective well-being.
“The need to look inwards to our land, our tradition, our heritage and our under-explored agricultural assets has never been more pressing”.
The event, which attracted professors, other academia, and politicians mainly from Imo State, as well as hundreds of Faculty and Department of Crop Science and Horticulture students, featured the award of academic excellence to the best students from the seven departments under the Faculty of Agriculture.
