An environmental expert, Dr. Kpodee N. ThankGod, has urged the people of Ogoniland to ensure that fish farming becomes their source of employment, noting that they cannot ensure food security without environmental justice, equitable investment, and sustainable development in the area.

ThankGod, who made the call in a goodwill message to Ogoni people to commemorate the 2025 World Food Day in Bori, Rivers State, said: “Our survival as a people depends on our willingness to return to the soil not as peasants, but as proud cultivators of the future.”

He urged the citizens to reflect on the pressing issues of hunger, sustainability, and the right of every human being to have access to safe, nutritious food, and focused on these, as well as work together hand in hand, without leaving anyone behind if they must grow as a people economically.

On this year’s theme: “Hand in hand for a better Food and a Better Future,” he stressed that it is a timely reminder of the sacred connection between natural resources, food systems, and human dignity, regretting that Ogoni has suffered environmental degradation, oil spills, and neglect over the years.

“Let us revive the culture of farming, not just as a tradition, but as a tool of economic liberation. Youths, women, and elders plant something. Whether it is cassava, maize, vegetables, or even trees, every seed planted is an act of resistance against hunger and poverty.”

According to ThankGod, “we must move from a culture of dependency to one of productivity. Our communities must attract and build agro-based investments that can transform raw produce into consumable and exportable goods.”

He, however, called on the governments to encourage local entrepreneurship, cooperative farming systems, and access to credit for rural farmers, and they must see agriculture not as charity, but as a profitable, scalable, and dignified industry.

“Farming alone is not enough. We must think beyond the farm and into the factory. In Ogoniland, cassava can turn into flour in our own processing plants; where palm fruits become oil packaged for the global market; where fish farming becomes a source of both nutrition and employment.”

He further explained that true food security comes when the entire value chain is controlled from soil to shelf. “A region that is green again, where polluted lands are restored and used for mechanised farming.

“A nation where young graduates become agripreneurs, leading technological innovations in food production. A Nigeria that exports food, not its people; creates jobs, not excuses; and builds industries, not just promises,” he concluded.