By Femi Akinola
An agriculture expert, Ibrahim Olayeni, has advised residents in Lagos to embrace urban farming and promote agricultural practices to enhance food production in the state.
Olayeni made the call during a programme organised by the Lagos State Muslims Community earlier. In the week.
Speaking the program with the theme- “Mosque Documentation in Conjunction With Market Convenience,” Olayeni who is a staff of Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture defined urban farming as farming carried out in the city with high human population and economic activities.
According to him, the urban farming involved taking advantage of every little space and resource to grow crops. This, he noted, will further enhance food production.
“Some benefits of urban farming included increased food production, provision of job opportunities and efficient use of available spaces available,” he said.
He said that urban farming could also attract young people to cultivation of common staple food.
Olayeni said that crops leafy vegetables, like ‘Soko’, ‘Tete’, ‘Ewedu’, ‘Spring onion and ‘Lettuce’ can be cultivated under urban farming.
Similarly, tomatoes, pepper, carrots, onions, okra, cabbage and yam are also good for cultivation
Also speaking, the Convener of the programme, Alhaji Adele Sanni, urged Muslims to organise themselves into cooperative group to buy foodstuff in bulk.
A Muslim scholar, Alhaji Tajudeen Uzamat, remarked that by engaging in farming, Muslim communities would be helping to reduce food scarcity.
Contributing, a director with the Lagos State Land Bureau, Alhaji Olawale Ojikutu, spoke on the need for Muslims to secure the titles of their property.
Ojikutu urged them to obtain genuine documentation for their mosques and personal landed property to avoid future litigation and forfeiture.
Ojikutu advised mosque leaders to get a committee or trustee to oversee the affairs of the mosque.
He added that this would help them pursue proper documentation from the government.