Urban Food Production: The Key to Africa’s Food Security Challenges
A training center has been established at the University of Ibadan to address the knowledge gap in urban food production.
Dil Bar Irshad
BNN
Feb 9, 2024
Excerpt:
African and European Union food security experts have pinpointed urban food production as the crucial pivot in battling food insecurity across Africa. This urgency was underscored at the second General Assembly of the INCITIS-FOOD consortium and the launch of the Circular City Food Research and Training Facilities at the University of Ibadan.
Led by researchers Professor Gertrud Buchenrieder and Dr. Oyediran Oyebola, the consortium is advocating for integrated farming as the panacea to the food system challenges swamping African cities. The consortium’s approach marries aquaculture with plant, insect, and animal production to optimize resource use and minimize waste.
Dr. Oyebola highlighted the triple threat of climate change, land access issues, and exorbitant agricultural land costs as significant barriers to sustainable food production in urban areas. He stressed that the nutritional value of food transported from rural areas to cities is compromised, making city-based production essential to ensure food quality and availability.
