Tuesday, 19th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Samson Ogbole, 2 other nature promoters guests on African Voices 

By Dominica Okpara
09 December 2018   |   3:59 am
Nigeria’s agriculturist, Samson Ogbole, known for alternative sources of growing crops outside soil, and two other nature promoters are the special...

Samson Ogbole

Nigeria’s agriculturist, Samson Ogbole, known for alternative sources of growing crops outside soil, and two other nature promoters are the special guests billed for this weekend’s edition of CNN African Voices sponsored by telecoms operator, Globacom.

According to a press statement from Globacom, Ogbole will be focusing on how he has introduced highly resourceful ways to grow crops without using soil. He believes that the future can only be secured if it is built on ‘agricultural practices that are healthy for the farmer, healthy for the consumer and healthy for the environment.’

He will talk about his vision to ensure that humans ‘eat right, live longer,’ as well as ‘ensure food is the drug we eat to live healthier and longer.’

PS Nutrac, a company founded by Ogbole, uses different technologies, including hydroponics (plants in water), aquaponics (using waste produce of fishes to feed plants) and aeroponics (plants growing in air) to ensure that crops are grown all year round and not only at specific seasons.

Ogbole’s intervention seems right for agricultural development in Nigeria as he says: “plants grown without soil have higher phytochemicals and antioxidants compared to those grown in soil.” He says the crops are also healthier as there is reduced use of inorganic fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides or other agrochemicals on the crops. There are already aeroponics farms in Ibadan, Abuja, Umudike in Abia State and Araromi Ake in Ogun State.

The second guest is Junior Gabela, a South African bird guide with a supernatural knowledge of flying creatures. He is a site guide for Amatikulu Nature Reserve, Nkandla Forest, Dlinza Forest, Eshowe, Mthunzini, Richards Bay, Ongoye Forest and Umlalazi Nature Reserve in South Africa.

He has a quiet passion for birding and an uncanny knack of locating even the most hard to find species. He has been a Birdlife South Africa accredited guide since 2005 and has been guiding since 2000, and at the same time working with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), where he undertakes researches and participates in school outreach programmes.

Angus Paul, a Kenyan who has turned fishing into a spectacular art is also on the programme. He discloses that he had wanted to be a fisherman since his childhood on the North coast of Kenya where he  was fortunate  to have world-class bill fish fishing right on his doorstep.

“It also helped that my family ran one of the few charter companies in the region at the time. There were no favours offered and I did my training through the ranks like everyone else and became a skipper more than 30 years ago,’’ he adds.

Paul is notable for catching the most Sailfish year-on-year and his sound reputation for getting his clients ‘on the fish.’ He currently heads the family business bringing up his eldest son up through the ranks, so that, he could step into the father’s shoes in the art of fishing and sports-fishing.

0 Comments