On this week’s episode of African Voices, CNN International travels to Nigeria to learn how farmer Samson Ogbole is creating revolutionary ways to farm sustainably.
He tells CNN: “Only 46% of Nigerian land was fertile for growing… So as a nation we have to ask ourselves, where do we want to be? Do we want to be a well-fed slave or a hungry free nation? So, what I’m doing differently is first trying to bring in technology into agriculture.”
Since childhood, Ogbole’s parents had fostered his love for research and science but it was his grandparents who introduced him to farming.
He tells African Voices: “As an only child I was always indoors, so, parents go out, they give [me a] newspapers to read… And they would come back in the night to check assignments… My grandma had very big cassava farm. There my grandpa grew different kind of crops depending on the season, so we had yam, we had maize, and it was really fun.”
Founding his company P-S Nutraceuticals has allowed Ogbole to turn his passion for science and agriculture into a mission to feed Nigeria.
He explains: “It’s an agro-technology company with a vision to ensure that we eat to live longer, to sanitize food system from the farm to the procession to the table … Generally, in Nigeria, food security is at stake. There is the rising population, add to that the fact that there is urban migration, that people want to leave the villages in search for a better life. So, all of these factors have contributed to ensuring that we do not have food readily available. And if, as a nation, we do not find alternative means to produce food we would have to depend on importation to feed ourselves.”
Through research, Ogbole believes a potential solution to Nigeria’s food resource problem can be found in soilless farming: “In soilless growing, what we have been able to do is remove the soil component [and] bring in substitutes …
“The advantages of growing without soil include one, you can grow anytime of the year. Two, we have been able to push for urban farming, where we now have farms in cities. Then number three, with soilless farming we have been able to eliminate the pathogens that exist in the soil that naturally affect the crops.”
Speaking about the need to create new solutions, Ogbole says: “Money does not solve problems. Ideas, solve problems… So, for those of you coming out look at where you fit in. Start from where you are. The most important thing, remember, is people will always eat. Food will not go out of style, so this is one sector that will always remain relevant because people must eat.”