Mr Rufus Durodoye, Product Development Department, Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), has said using greenhouse mechanism, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees can boost food security in Nigeria.

Durodoye said this while delivering an online presentation on Journalist go Organic, a Pan African initiative, on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to him, Agriculture has the potential to foster the economic and social integration of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and also increase value chain.

“In developed countries, sectors such as agriculture, tourism and care services, have become largely dependent on migrants and substantially contributing to local economic development benefiting to both host communities and refugees alike.

“Many refugees originate from rural areas and hold valuable agricultural skills as crop producers, livestock keepers or fishermen.

”Given the right support and assets, they have the potential to not only feed themselves and their families but also enter into lucrative markets and prosper,” he said.

According to him, greenhouse mechanised farming approach has the potential to transform the agricultural sector of rural Nigeria by achieving food security, increasing incomes and creating new employment opportunities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that greenhouse or screenhouse is a structure with walls and roof made of transparent but durable materials, such as glass or plastic, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.

A screenhouse is what we found in Nigeria and some African Countries, it is suitable for temperate region where the weather is good and conducive for plants to grow.

Durodoye noted that it was referred to as screenhouse because the issue of weather had been overcome, “leaving us with dust, insects, pests and unwanted humans and animals from entering the kit.

“Inside the Greenhouse, we have gadgets/equipment like heaters, coolant, fans etc to regulate the temperature into the standard required for your plants, this type of Greenhouse are found in Europe, Asia and America, etc.

“It comes in various sizes ranging from 5m x 5m, 5m x 10m, 24m x 24m, 24m x 48m, depending on your strength. For a Screenhouse of 24m x 48m, you are sure of 600 stands of plants you want to go into, non-availability of land is not an excuse. You can do this at your backyard or balcony.

“One common thing is that both of them have the same structure, with a small land area, and management of limited resources, one can harvest huge production, it alleviates hunger and is a good source of family income,” he said.

NAN reports that tomatoes, harbanero pepper, golden sun, green pepper, cucumber, vegetables and yam are among food crops that thrive well in a greenhouse farm.