The Management of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) has said the institution’s teaching and research farms have become a veritable source of food products for members of its host communities.

Dean of Agric, Prof. Adebayo Aromolaran, who disclosed this in a media chat, added that the farms have also become a source of employment for many able-bodied men and women from the local communities.

He said, “Our teaching and research farms are growing into mini communities of their own. They provide essential agro-allied services like raising high-yield seedlings for sale to local farmers. Right now we are raising 5,000 seedlings of cocoa for the local farmers. We sold thousands of the seedlings last year, and already we are booked for the ones we are raising this year. This is another major contribution from us.

“We currently have 5,000 hectares of cocoa farm, and we have an equal number of plantains planted alongside the cocoa. We have started harvesting plantains which we sell to members of the University community as well as members of the larger community.

“I must also add that our poultry farm has become the biggest producer of eggs and other poultry products in this area. We raise broilers for sale and pullets for egg production. Our eggs are bigger and more nutritious than what obtains out there as we develop our own feed formular from our faculty here that has guaranteed that.”

Aromolaran added that plans are afoot to begin a cattle ranch while expanding the goat and pig farms, even as final year students are cultivating high-yield specie of tomatoes, groundnuts and other produce as part of their farm practice.

“We have the piggery section that has grown to about 20 pigs. Recently funds have been released to us to start our cattle farm. We already have a goattery, but when we complete the pens for the cows in the next couple of weeks, we should start bringing in the cows.

“We also have palm trees that we will soon start processing oil from. Our oil will be different from the manual processing used in the locality; ours will be mechanized and thus more hygienic.”

https://citadelng.com/our-research-farms-boosting-food-sufficiency-aaua/