Mrs Nwankwo Adaeze Glory from the Epe Division of Lagos State on Monday won the Lagos edition of the ‘Every Home A Garden’ competition and got the sum of N2.5 million prize.

The competition was under the Agriculture and Food Security Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) of Nigeria First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu.

The aim of the competition meant only for women was to encourage Nigerians especially women folk to go into agriculture by planting a garden at home to address food shortages across the country.

 

Adaeze was announced as the winner of the Lagos State chapter of the competition on Monday by the Lagos State First Lady, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House, Ikeja.

 

Sanwo-Olu said though Lagos did not produce the overall national winner who went away with N20 million, Adaeze ‘s exceptional performance at the national competition earned her a prize money of N1 million from the Nigeria First Lady and an additional N500,000 from the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADFUND).

 

In appreciation of her performance, Sanwo-Olu gave Adaeze another N1 million as the overall winner in Lagos, taking her winning prize to N2.5million.

 

In addition, she announced a cash prize of N500,000 for each of the four winners with the best gardens from the remaining four divisions of Lagos; Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Badagry, and Ikeja.

 

She also announced that all the 152 participants who made it to the grand finale would receive N100,000 each.

 

“I want to encourage you to sustain the home gardening passion, incorporate it into your daily lives and make it a sustainable way of life,” she urged the participants

 

On whether the competition will take place next year, Sanwo-Olu expressed her commitment to sustaining the initiative but said she would wait for the signal from the Nigeria First Lady whether to continue or not.

 

Wife of the Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Oluremi Hamzat, said the competition was a testament we can achieve greater Lagos.

 

“I encourage women to continuously practice smart farming in their homes to strengthen agriculture in the country. This programme should inspire us to create a.better future for ourselves. We can feed ourselves as a nation,” she said.

 

The Chairman, Office of the First Lady Farmer’s committee, Ayo Afuwape, said the committee visited gardens presented by 90 per cent of the participants adding that various criteria were used to determine the best.

 

According to him, some of the criteria include variety of crops planted, space management, pest control strategies, community impact of the garden, and use of social media to promote the initiative among others.

 

He added that 1,052 applications were received which was later reduced to 757 from which the final 250 were chosen to participate.

 

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Tolani Alli-Balogun commended Oluremi Tinubu for the initiative and Sanwo-Olu for ensuring the success of the programme in Lagos State.

 

He said the competition taught Nigerians how to live a simple life, save cost, and grow healthy vegetables.

 

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso said many Nigerians are now paying attention to agriculture within the home.

 

“The programme has generated lots of interest. We should revive farming, we need to feed ourselves. I thank the First Lady for taking up this challenge,” he said.

 

Some of the participants also commended the two First Ladies for the programme.

 

One Morenike Iyabo from the Ikeja division in her testimony said since she started planting in her home , she now eats healthy as she eats what she plants.

“I plant tomatoes, ewedu and vegetables. What I eat from my harvest is more nutritious than the ones I buy from the market.. This programme is an eye opener and we want it to continue,” she said