The Lawmaker representing Amuwo-Odofin Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs. Stella Osafile, on Friday said the community had started production of Stevia, a plant-based sweetener.
Osafile made this known on the sidelines of the 9th Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting held in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government on Friday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was held simultaneously across the 40 constituencies of the state.
The meeting had the theme, “Ensuring Food Security for A Sustainable Future: Youth Participation and Home-Grown Farming.”
Osafile said: “We introduced Stevia, because it’s the new gold. It originated from Mexico and can grow very well in Nigeria.
“It’s a sugar plant that we can use in place of real sugar and there is a high demand for it.
“It has low calories, and one kilogram is about N25,000 in the market.
“So we have it and we want to spread it across the whole state,” she said.
NAN reports that Stevia is a plant known for its sweet leaves that is about 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
Some of its benefits include anti-inflammatory properties, zero calories and low glycemic index.
The lawmaker said that the local government went into Stevia production in a bid to create jobs and more income opportunities for its constituents.
He explained that the aim of this year’s stakeholders’ meeting was to deliberate and proffer solutions on how to ensure food security and sustain it for the next generation.
She said food insecurity was caused by factors including inflation rate, subsidy removal, insecurity, hoarding of food and climate change.
The lawmaker, however, said Amuwo-Odofin Local Government had, in August, embarked on urban farming training, where 70 youths were trained on innovative approaches to agriculture.
She said the state was cosmopolitan and there was not much land available, so the training equipped participants on vertical hydroponic farming.
Osafile said that vertical hydroponic farming was growing foods vertically using pet bottles and plastics around the home.
Osafile urged AOLG constituents to utilise little spaces around their homes, including balconies, for farming.
“For the majority of us living in flats, you can use pots, pet bottles vertically to grow your vegetables,” she said.
Earlier, the Speaker of LSHA, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, said the meeting would also identify the root causes of food insecurity and proffer sustainable solutions to benefit the nation.
Obasa said: “The Lagos State Government, enabled by the house, has introduced several initiatives to increase agricultural productivity and output in the state.
“These initiatives are anchored on building competence among farmers, improving agro-business climate and direct intervention in agricultural activities.”
He said some of the initiatives included setting up the 34-hectare Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate, which had the capacity of producing and processing 10,000 tonnes of fish per year.
Others, he said, are: the AGRIC-YES programme, Oke-Aro and Gberigbe Pig Farm Estates and Eko Farmers Market.
Obasa said home-grown farming was a comprehensive approach in addressing the challenge of food security.
“Home-grown farming has been widely acknowledged as very crucial to food sufficiency.
“This aggressive farming by all will create more jobs and balance income opportunities across the state, including the rural areas, for our people,” he said.
The speaker urged constituents with landed properties to prioritise using them for agricultural purposes.
Obasa urged the constituents to also rear animals, including goats, cows and poultry breeds and products, rather than focusing on food items, such as rice, yam, fruits and vegetables alone.
The Chairman of AOLG, Mr Valentine Buraimoh, praised the lawmakers for addressing the most pertinent area of the constituents’ needs.
He urged the LSHA to include the solutions proffered at the meeting in the next fiscal budget for the year 2025.
Mr Olanrewaju Hammed, Councillor for Ward K, said it was important that the youths are empowered with skills to promote farming.
Hammed, who is also the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, urged all constituents, irrespective of age, to adopt home-grown farming to reduce costs of food. (NAN)
