Lions Club activates operation feed yourself, encourages urban gardening

Towards availing the hunger afflicting the country, the Lagos Achievers Lions Club under the leadership of President, Ifeoluwa Ibirogba has enjoined Nigerians to adopt the Operation Feed the Nation technique introduced by the federal military government in 1979.

The group offers germinating seedlings, raw foods, cash crops and vegetables to over 200 households in Mopol Two Barack of the Nigerian Police as part of the club relieving hunger project.

During the donation, Ibirogba emphasised the need to focus on increasing food crop production for domestic consumption. “This is the reliving hunger project and it’s one of the global service courses that Lion Club embarked on. This year we have done different projects and one of them is germinating seeds in the nursery. We planted the seed in the nursery and nursed it for 21 days and 28 days respectively. We moved it from the nursery tray to nylon which we are now giving out to the young ones to encourage them to go into gardening.”

She said the initiative is to teach people sustainability, as the hike in dollar rate is making the cost of living unbearable. “We understand the global trend, even in Nigeria, especially with the hike in dollar rate, life is becoming tough, and the increase in prices of commodities is overwhelming. That is why we decided to come up with this to help ourselves to survive; we need to teach people how to fish even when we give them fish. Adopting gardening is lifesaving; it reduces the cost of living which can as well generate little income that can be used for beneficial things. Also, eating organic food helps to stay healthy.

Ibirogbe also urged the Nigerian government to look into the plight of the needy, the aged and children by introducing flexible policies that will reduce hardship. “The citizens are in abject poverty. If the society is conducive to the populace the government will enjoy governance. Government should make flexible policies.”

She also advised Nigerians to go back to their roots and embrace farming and local businesses. “Looking at foreign countries, they concentrated on their local businesses. For example, the Indians provide their food. All of us cannot rely on white-collar jobs and expect the country to thrive. Government should emphasise and invest more on agricultural training because the sector is on the verge of collapse. Things will get worse if care is not taken, the tariff is high and animal feed is almost 400 percent higher. Once the livestock trade is gone, we will become slaves in our land.”

Also speaking, member of Lagos Achievers Lions Club, Project Chairperson, Mrs, Folasade Shotanmide said the project is aimed towards cushioning the effect of the economic hardship in the country. “We know things are tight out there, so, we felt if we could help to feed people with the little we have, it would go a long way to reduce hunger.”