FUTUR

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GROWT
PROPOSAL H
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HOMESTEAD GARDENING FOOD PRODUCTION your phone number]
(THEME WOMEN IN SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE) (WISE) — [Type your e-mail
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FOR HOUSEWIVES

By:-

LUGAVO
(Let Us Give Agriculture a Voice Cooperatives/Ventures)
Starting Agriculture from Bottom to Top
START JULY – END September 2019
 JulyAugust 2019

Content:-
1. Insight
2. Aims
3. Objectives
4. Vision
5. Advantages of gardening within the home.
6. What is Homestead Gardening Food Production
7. The challenge
8. Solution
9. Activities
10. Who we are
11. Conclusion
12. Suggestion
13. Areas of intervention
14. Our prayer

INSIGHT
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In line with EU-Rejection on ecessive application of insecticides and
fertilizers on some of our essential crops, the EU has rejected crops
grown in Nigeria from entering their country. They have cause to believe
that some of to be responsible for some symtoms not really spelt out to us,
but claimed same is responsible for the numerous cases of cancer never
before known to be associated with Africa led to various ways of advocacy
the EU, UN initiated, with practical knowledge of going back to history
where our parents pick from selected veggies within the home for
refreshment and meals, with the craze for white colar jobs, it’s hard to
find time to connect with Agriculture as a family way every day , this is
why we have created the Homestead Gardening Food Production to give
the idea needed to point a family garden, this led to our gathering plans
that will help families spend time in their homes and draw closer to one
another in Cultivation of vegetables within the family compound and small
farms, housewives with quick reach for soup ingredients is a century old
culture in Nigeria, but these vegetables gardens were not raised in a
planned way for maximum benefits, this is why we introduced the
homestead gardening food production with its first phace in Gombe
State as pilot.

Lunching of homestead gardening food production inombe state

1 &2Presentation by the Minister of State Agriculture, 3 Halima Njobdi with the

executives of Agric Research Councle of Nigeria,4, Halima at the update of Women
in cross border trades in Lome Togo with members of Borderless Allaince on
security harassment of women WILDAF. Halima, Nelly, Sani Dangote, and Dr
Edwards

AIMS
Is raise a high level in advocacy, starting agriculture from Bottom to Top
carrying all the monarchs irrespective of status as custodians of the
Rural Dwellers for the purpose of identifying real farmers to benefit from
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all the window openings for the Anchor Borrowing system introduced by
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN.
OBJECTIVES)
Inject the passion for agriculture into the minds of Nigerians and young
agriculturists with advocacy on the potentials of agriculture and get the
attention of the government on the farmers yawning, particularly on the
areas of acquiring farm lands for estates, with government providing
lands for farming purposes in each of the states.

VISION
Is to prepare for food security by encouraging Homestead Gardening
Food Production an old culture of taking vegetables from courtyard,
rather within family dwellings for the purpose of eating health fruits and
vegetables free of chemical, insecticides, and excessive application of
fertilizers the EU termed as EU-Rejection believed to be the reasons
behind some categorised infections never before known to be associated
with Africans the European Union viewed came from some of our farm
produce to their countries, and have basically effected the lives of
Nigerians at all sphere.

ADVANTAGES OF HOME GARDENING.

Besides been able to eat foods that are not contaminated, it will
provide much more than adding beauty to our yard, besides been able to
show off the beauty and numerous benefits of gardening, it is a great
form of exercise, for obvious weight lose benefits gardening have been
proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and
decrease depression, we intend with advocacy for families to utilize the
space around their house to grow vegetables and limited food crops
besides those established fields on marginal land far from the house, this
is the genesis of permaculture where a section of the house have garden
particularly for the immediate uses of the house. And age long adage
claimed family gardening has been discovered to be fun and grounds for
reconciliation in battered home a ground psychologist claims bring two
factions together unknowingly Our aims is to improve food security
through homestead gardening food production by developing and
evaluating the appropriateness and effectiveness of introduction of
specific learning technics in bringing agriculture into the lives of young
agriculturists in Nigeria . After all, crops do grow much faster a system
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compared to a traditional soil based approach, Homestead gardening
food production model contributes to improved House Hold food
security, nutrition and female empowerment experience from scaling-up
programs in Nigeria Malnutrition, particularly micronutrient
deficiencies, contributes significantly to the high rates of maternal and
child mortality in Nigeria. at least half of pre-school children and
pregnant women are affected by micronutrient deficiencies. To combat
these deficiencies from resulting in negative health outcomes, LUGAVO
literarily meaning (Let Us Give Agriculture a Voice)has been
implementing homestead gardening food production programs coupled
with nutrition education in Nigeria for more than a decade. The main
objective of LUGAVO is to increase and ensure year-round availability
and intake of micronutrient-rich foods in poor households to the very
rich who eats junk foods all geared towards measured household food
availability. It is believed that the consumption of vegetables, fruits and
animal products such as egg and liver among women and children 6 to
59 months will eradicate illnesses
WHAT IS HOMESTEAD
An age long tradition term homestead mean different things to different
people, but at its essence is the idea of being self sufficient, for a
purpose, we mean growing what we eat right in our own backyard, guest
and families can eat fresh and local non organic vegetables void of
pesticides, fertilizers etc, Homestead Gardening Food Production is a
means of Empowering Women and Feeding Families, it equips women
and small holder farmers with the necessary tools and skills to cultivate
home gardens and raise small livestock for the immediate needs of their
families and sometimes as quick gifts to friends and extended families,
our major concerned for delving into the Homestead Gardening Food
Production in Nigeria is based on physical experienced relating to
broken marriages particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria when I
came from and in the cause of my moving around on the women
programs lost very good and vibrant women who would have been role
models on the women programs but because stipends called ‘Kudin
Cefene’ this is cash given to the women who owns the bedroom for the
next few days, a system where the man controls a set of women as wives,
that rotate amongst the women , and it is her entitlement for the days
meals in cases where the men do not make provision of storing food for
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extended period of time, so it becomes a daily business, sometimes the
women gets part of this into a fixed deposit with the Esusu, local vendors
who sometimes exploit the women, who do not fume about their loses
because they do not want their husbands to know of their exploitation by
using money meant for food as daily contribution to meet their needs,
interaction with the women show they needed the money to meet up what
was meant for their personal needs taken from the food money. This is
where we are coming from and there is every likely hood that the food
prepared for that day may not meet the nutrient value required for that
days meal.

THE CHALLENGE

For obvious reasons unexplained equal access to nutrition have not

taken its rightful place in our society, talking of nutrition, the
pharmaceutical society compounded it all with the introduction of
supplement as tables to replace fruits and veggies better derived from
fruits and green veggies despite the Federal Ministry of Agriculture
Nutrition Department one of the silent department in the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, its function and scope of activities
is yet to be spelt out to Nigerians, we have been privileged to visit several
times the nutrition dept to inquire of the ministry’s role and relevant of
the department , we are also made to understand some of the
international communities have contributed immensely like UNICEF,
USAID and lot more whose major role in Africa is all about the welfare
of the girl child. children paying particular attention on the girl child
growth, they base their findings on malnourished children to baby
mothers referring to children having babies before maturity, it was
discovered three out of four people who live in the rural areas, most of
them depend on agriculture for food as well as those of us living as
urban dwellers by selling some for self sustained , we have relied on
smallholder farmers and their families who are also malnourished
because some of the older farmers who have been farming to feed
themselves and the nation are aged, some dead, some relocated by
wards to urban areas for medical treatment due to age related illnesses,
these represent women farmers who live on less than 20k – 50k a day
and have limited power to make household financial decisions and
limited rights to own lands be it those inherited or given before
marriages, it could be a combination of families land later shared among
the family and the crave to own sectional houses becomes priority with
limited means to cope by eating cheaper, less nutritious food, which had
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catastrophic lifelong effects on the survival and health of the children
now parents, including stunt when a child has low height for his/her age,
known as developmental delays and a compromised immune system, for
this and other dietery related issues Government intervention on
adcovacy is higly required here as the people and farmers demand.

SOLUTION

In reality Agriculture will remain a childs play if Government do not

come into the advocacy for Homestead Gardening Food Production
should be intensified to promote agriculture not as food alone for
survival, but to encouraged the younger generation to enable them
partake in agriculture to meet quantity at cheaper rates all can afford,
establish Village Model Farms or Farmer Field Schools where
participants receive hands on training to improve traditional gardening
and farming practices train health staff and volunteers working in
villages to host nutrition education sessions for women, teaching them
how to improve nutritional practices within their homes, especially for
their infants and young children as well as themselves Women should be
encouraged to embrace the Homestead Gardening Food Production with
incentives to encourage them, this will bring back our old ways of getting
veggies from compounds, to remind us, our parents never patronised
the markets for veggies in the villages they got what they wanted right
within their residences and the introduction of , this program will help
the young agriculturist by bringing them closer to agriculture either as
past time or full time depending on availability of space for planting
because:-.

1. Homestead Gardening Food Production will help many women meet

their nutrient value, breakthrough gender barriers by becoming
indoor entrepreneurs supplying Spas, friends and if done collectively
could drop daily stipends for them on a wallet we have designed for
them theme ‘women In Sustainable Enterprise’ (WISE)

2. Our program have on its list Farmers Mat, a refrigerated mall

strictly for fruits and veggies with a section for dicing and blending
designed for the women/housewives who are registered member of
the Homestead Gardening Food Production as a bank to vendor
agreement with the established mats, who takes little as a bowl of
tomatoes or pepper, veggies well cleaned, this concept which allow
the women to focus on what they grow well, and let them spend more
time in the garden after the house chores, it allows the women to start
their business without capitals right in their homes.
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3. They gain experience by starting a small entrepreneur business and

make mistakes without terminating their career a step towards big
time farming from their homes to becoming big suppliers of veggies.

ACTIVITIES

We have lunched in some parts of Nigeria Homestead Gardening Food

Production only to improve access to nutritious foods, but in many cases
for those we have trained , this system enable the women to obtain
authority for decision-making within the house hold for immediate needs,
several areas where Homestead Gardening Food Production is practiced
also have seen reductions in night blindness, anemia according to
medical experts handling paediatric cases claimed vegetables play
significant roles in children and adult and those on the Homestead
Gardening Food Production produced nutritious food for their own daily
consumption and also will earned an extra money from sale of surplus
produce and supplies to our Farmers Mat.

WHO WE ARE

LUGAVO initially No Agriculture No Deal West Africa is established

and registered with CAC, Abuja, and with the bibliographical
department of the National Library of Nigeria as No Agriculture No Deal
in 2013 was sponsored by the World Bank on Mango Snacks
Production accompanied trips via the Agricultural Research Council of
Nigeria (ARCN) and member of the West Africa Agricultural
Productivity Programme (WAAPP) and member of the National Working
Group on GAP under standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) changed
to LUGAVO Cooperatives known as (LET US GIVE AGRICULTURE
A VOICE) registered as a Cooperatives and as a Venture to look into the
investment side of agriculture, because the former name we are told
sound militant, initially we have an operative office within the famous
‘Women Centre ’ from 2000 to May 2019 where we were forcefully
ejected with part payment of our rent covering 2021 having over
2.325.000 members doing Production, Processing, Preservation cut
across the 774 LGAs including FCT single handled by Halima Njobdi
our Director General, she is also the National Woman leader All
Farmers Association of Nigeria under chief Dr Femi Coker
+2348060070063, the founder, trustee, and National President All
Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) who gave her proxy for the
purpose of bringing all factions of AFAN to dialogues for reconciliation
believing all the value chains if joined together will make a very
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beautiful necklace for admiration, sound in his thinking and utterances
particularly worried and concerned on the plight of Nigeria Women
Farmers, the reasons he gave his nodding for the Homestead
Gardening Food Production program span in different countries in
Africa and has benefited more than one million households and will
reach additional 300,000 by 2021 God willing, if this program find
favour before our His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

To feel the pulse of the women a self funded program with gift of five (5)
day old chick, 25kg starter feeds, and 25kg finisher feeds and Okra seeds
donated by the Horticultural Dept of Federal Ministry of Agriculture,
part of the seeds given to the secretary of Persons Living with disability,
activities sensitisation on voter registration card and pick up
arrangement with mobilisation for women in villages within and outside
States visited.

`Training was given to the beneficiaries at the first phase and thereafter
seeds from the department of Horticulture were also given to them free of
cost to grow vegetables in their homestead areas. In fact it was a very
successful project and the beneficiaries produced good quantity of
vegetables from their gardens, demonstrated in our cook well program a
periodic program designed to keep the women active.
This project if embrace will help the poor families a lot and besides
regular consumption of vegetables, the beneficiaries will sell their
surplus and earned money which may be spent to purchase other
nutritional foods for the family members.
Homestead gardening food production will also help the poor women to
established their dignity in the society as well, initially Nigerians very
much depends on agriculture our initial source for wealth, and age long
culture of selecting vegetables from courtyards before the discovery of
crude oil which diverted our attention to imported products from
countries with policy for addressing redundancy, and Nigeria became a
dumping ground for their experimental products, however the quest for
food persists as a huge number of farmers are marginal or landless with
less than 40sqm of land beside their homestead areas, this sector of the
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population suffers from poverty, malnutrition, anaemia, night blindness,
poor growth and development of children and micronutrient deficiency
and the development of children decreases, void of advocacy to promote
homestead gardening food production, family members struggle by
generating income opportunities which also became mandatory for
income opportunities the reason why LUGAVO designed a wallet themed
‘women In Sustainable Enterprise ’ (WISE) registered along with the
cooperatives as a venture to look into the investments side of agriculture
for a more aggressive advocacy on the needs of ensuring homestead food
production and nutritional security, and generate extra income from
windows of opportunities leading to cultivation and consuming diverse
types of nutrient –dense vegetables regularly which can help alleviate the
problems faced by the women in trying to meet family needs for good and
balanced diet. We need not go further a 20minutes visits to our National
Hospital, our nursing home in Kaduna Ear, Nose and Eyes department
gives you a scary look on how did we get to this stage of little Nigerians
coming up with symptoms never before known to be associated with
Africa majority as a result of poor diet.

CONCLUSION
To boost awareness on Agriculture believed to be the focal point as No 1
in addressing youths unemployment in Nigeria even youths
unemployment is a global thing but in Nigeria it is almost tearing the
fabric of peace due to section looking for identity in the midst of a
complex society disturbing our young democracy from growing healthy,
to return us to our initial source of wealth, if Homestead Gardening
Food Production is carried out it will determine the role of government
in agriculture for all Nigerians have heard about going back to
agriculture with strong advocacy programs attached to bring awareness
on homestead gardening food production to encouraged young
agriculturists likely to bring in the much desired household food security,
it will boost food production. Reduce costs on veggies. Even though
findings have revealed that food security is an issue of concern in
Nigeria as many households are affected by seasonal hunger. Results
have also shown that homestead gardening food production will play
significant role in household food security with regard to size of land and
number of livestock mixed with homestead garden crops. Although
agricultural production was identified as the main method of food
procurement for households, it is apparent that homestead gardening
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food production is not an established practice in Nigeria due to quick
wealth from oil that led to neglect of home garden crops in favour of
imported cash crop and other field crops that have adverse effects on the
food security status of Nigerians households.   There is urgent need to
recognize the potential of homestead gardening food production, as there
is evidence through research, that it can improve household food
security. Nigerians want to take advantage of the high agro-biodiversity
coming up being introduced during the lunching of the Nigeria-Brazil
Green Imperative to secure more food crops at household level. With the
high population density in Nigeria, only intensive practices of crop
production provided through homestead gardening food production will
ensure food security for households and the community at large. our
sponsored visits to othe countries show agriculture can provide jobs for
75% of Nigerians while the remaining 25% is spread amongst other
diciplines if Government is serious in its efforts in awakening agriculture
from its long sleep.
SUGGESTION.
As a private sector driven initiative to compliment government efforts in
making agriculture a reality as revenue generation drive to sustain the
states away from oil, if nothing but looking towards ‘Oil Peak’ where
countries e now looking towards Nigeria virgin lands believed to be the
best in Africa for their food solution, this sector as private as the word
entails cannot do it alone without government coming in areas of funding
some of the players on ADVOCACY, as a national issue bothering on
government particularly on un-employment and government is at its
discretion to.
1. To revisit Nigeria agricultural policy.
2. Restablish in each state the office of the Public Private Sector for
Agriculture alone.
3. Provide land in each state of the federation for farming with an
irrevocable policy for stay on land farms only.
4. Update the library of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for references
purposes of the young agriculturists in the states.
5. Pay particularly attention with advocacy for promoting Homestead
Gardening Food Production for surplus.

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6. Open the job portal for more employment into the Ministry of
Agriculture.
7. Create an advisory board chossen from veteran, intellectuals whom the
government have trained , each to represent a state or six (6) as pilot to
head the geo polical zones with room for further expansion for uniform
policy implementation.
8. Introduction of PermaCulture a mixure of Agriculture and social life to
address cattle storming farms due to migration

9. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES

This two ministries needed to strategize in line with its laid down policy
establishing them the ministry of industry for establishing and Commerce
for compliance, this two regulatory bodies have been dormant because
some other section have taken their task and responsibility, and the need
to separate powers becomes mandatory for investors and the processing
industries for the sake of job creation for the women and youths.
AREAS OF INTERVENTION & FUNDING

Moderlities to be worked out.

Halima Njobdi, Abuja Nigeria

Telephone +2348021266661
SMS +2348064822080
Regional Director, No Agriculture No Deal West Africa
Email [email protected]
Director General, LUGAVO Cooperatives/Ventures
[email protected]

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