The Association of Organic Agriculture Practitioners of Nigeria has called for the promotion of organic farming to promote healthy living.
The President of the association, Prof. Victor Olowe, said this in a an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
According to him, organic farming is a better alternative for nutritious and healthier foods.
“In organic farming, we use manure in place of synthetic fertilizers.
“Manure of plant or animal origin is used to aid growth instead of synthetic substances.
“Organic crops are in high demand presently because people are becoming more conscious and mindful of what they eat.
“Most artificial-fertilizer-grown crops are carcinogenic; you do not want to eat food and find yourself in the hospital.
“Going organic is a production system where food commodities, whether crops or animals, are cultivated without synthetic or artificial inputs such as pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers,” he said.
Olowe noted that organic crops were in high demand as more people were getting more conscious of what they consume.
He said organic farming was a highly regulated crop cultivation system, adding that it was unlike industrial or conventional agriculture practice.
“Organically cultivated crops take only take about two per cent of cultivated lands globally. It is a small niche in the sector.
“Presently, as small as the organic farming sector is, it is the fastest growing sector of agriculture globally because organic crops are in high demand.
“So, people are now conscious of what they eat, they ask did you grow your yams or vegetable with artificial fertilizers?
“Usually, yams cultivated with artificial fertilizers when cut open turn red or brown and this indicates nutrient imbalance,” Olowe said.
