Food security: Kwara govt encourages school gardening and farming among students
In its efforts to curb malnutrition and enhance food security, the Kwara State Government emphasized the importance of school gardening and farming in the state.
Featuring on a fresh episode of ‘Adequate Nutrition and Healthy Living’ on Kwara State Television, a programme organized by Kwara State Ministry of Communications, the Nutrition Desk Officer from the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs Bosede Adegoke, described school gardening as a special portion of land set aside for students to till, cultivate and plant fruits and vegetables depending on the school and students’ abilities, thus instilling in the students the knowledge of farming, which can impart their future positively.
Mrs Adegoke, while citing the Young Farmers’ Club as one of the settings provided to train students on how to become young farmers, said that school gardening and farming have been incorporated into the curriculum through Agricultural Science subject.
She also highlighted the benefits of school gardening and farming in combating malnutrition which will enable students to know the fruits and vegetables to take and at what proportion, saying they also generate income for the school, students and the community as a whole and promote healthy nutrition as the freshness of the vegetables and fruits help to retain the nutrients.
She mentioned okra, spinach, pumpkin, red pepper, tomatoes, watermelon, pineapple, garden eggs, maize, sweet potatoes, etc. as some of the vegetables, fruits and crops that are ideal for school gardening and farming, reiterating that school gardening and farming are not limited to fruits and vegetables but Fishery, Poultry Farming and Animal Husbandry are also part of school gardening and farming.
In her submission, Mrs Adegoke admonished all Agricultural Science subject teachers to be up and doing in teaching both the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.
