By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has stated that the Federal Government through the ministry will explore the potentials in the Chinese Juncao technology for the development of a stronger Agricultural base for the country.
NatureNews reports that Juncao technology is a method that uses chopped grass as substrate for growing edible and medicinal mushrooms and as forage for livestock. It is a unique Chinese invention that uses agricultural resources of light, heat and water in a holistic way.
The Minister, speaking during a courtesy visit by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jian Chun on Thursday in Abuja, applauded China for its vast agricultural programmes and projects which he said has helped the country attain food sufficiency despite its huge population.
According to the minister, “If China can feed itself with over one billion population, we can too. We are ready to leverage on the Chinese technology to also develop our agricultural base.”
The minister assured the Chinese ambassador that the ministry was keen in partnering with China to share in the Juncao technology in grass feed for livestock farming, traditional medicine and in biomass energy for crop protection.
“We want to harness on these projects to create more jobs for Nigerian youth. Anything we do in agriculture is directed to youth empowerment, we will continue to collaborate and cooperate with China to actualise our goals,” he added.
Earlier speaking, the Chinese Ambassador said he was in the ministry to share areas of mutual, bilateral and economic benefits between Nigeria and China , informing that China was ready to launch a 3- prone pilot project in Nigeria , using the Juncao technology.
These are mushroom cultivation, traditional medicine and the Juncao giant grass.
He said that the Juncao grass grow faster with high yields and rich nutrition and is used for the alleviation of soil erosion and rocky desertification.
He explained further that the technology utilizes Juncao raw materials to produce mushrooms, feeds, fertilizer, biomass energy , biological materials to support environmental protection and climate change response.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Student Affairs, Nasir Adhama who accompanied the ambassador on the visit said, Nigeria and China had a lot to share together especially in agriculture and said the nation will gain more if it taps into the vast potentials of China to develop the sector.