Climate smart agriculture: FCTA reinforces support for students, teachers

Stories by Stanley Onyekwere

In furtherance with efforts  to boost food security, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reiterated commitment to partnerships targeted at sustaining and scaling up intellectual exposure of students  in innovative agricultural practices in the Territory.

In particular, the FCTA reiterated readiness to intensify collaborations for capacity building of stakeholders especially teachers on sustainable climate-smart agriculture in schools.

The FCTA gave this assurance through, the  Coordinating Director, FCT Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), Mr. Kolawole Olobashola,, during the engagement of selected teachers on embracing  innovative agriculture solutions, organised by DSTI, in collaboration with the LIFEWS Foundation, a non-profit organisation, yesterday, in Abuja.

Olobashola, said with the innovative drive, students will be aware and become very conscious of what they can achieve and contribute towards ensuring sustainable development.

He noted that it is a technological age, and the Foundation’s purpose is to study the relationship between the sun and the soil, which has given setbacks to agriculture in this part of the world.

 He added that: “I’m not only talking about the students, I also recommend it to other stakeholders in the farm like crops producers as well as policy makers.”

Stressing the importance of understanding the relationship between the soil and sun, the DSTI Director said: “What is inside the soil? What is the correlation? How do we encourage our plants? How do we have maximum yield from some of these crops?

“There is going to be a training workshop for people that would agree to be trained, they will be allowed to teach the students. That will boost the cognitive and the psychomotor knowledge of the students.

 “So, the programme is to reinforce the conception of the students in agriculture. And to wake them up technologically.”

Also speaking, Founder, LIFEWS Foundation, Sunday Gabriel Ayayia, said the training is part of the organisation’s resolve to leveraging on technology to impact rural communities.

Ayayia, a PhD student at the Oregon State University, USA, said the Foundation  through its AgriShine Schools Initiative will help school children how to adapt to the threat of climate change, and live more sustainably as they grow into the future that is unknown to them.

“We are in a difficult time, a very difficult moment, in history, where we are confronted with the problem of climate change.

 “So, how can we help the children to adapt to the threat of climate change? They are one of the most vulnerable, you know, people of, you know, impacted by climate change.

“We are at the stage where we have to look beyond the traditional way of farming. We have to start thinking about climate smart farming practises. That is one of the ways to secure the unknown future.

“Because if we have to think about addressing the problem of food insecurity, energy poverty, and water crisis, then we need a climate literacy initiative.

“So, this AgriShine initiative is to awaken the consciousness of students in climate smart agriculture. Our tool is education, and we are leveraging this education on technology,” he stated.