By Ginika Okoye
Stakeholders from various sectors of the economy have appealed to the government and private sector to set up multiple Juncao technology demonstration and distribution centres in the country.
The stakeholders made the appeal in a communique issued at the end of a three-day workshop on the application of the technology and its contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The stakeholders include experts, agriculturists, farmers representatives, among others.
The communique issued in Abuja on Friday said that the demonstration centres were necessary to ensure easy access to individuals and communities who were interested in adopting the technology.
Juncao technology is an environmental friendly one that capacitates smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs to grow mushrooms from dried, chopped grasses, without cutting down trees and damaging the environment.
The technology could also be used for producing cattle feed, methane gas and minimise soil erosion to combat desertification.
The communique said that extensive advocacy, community mobilisation and education using traditional rulers and leaders should be embarked on to promote the technology.
It suggested that development partners and private entities be encouraged to provide incentives to farmers and individuals who were interested in adopting the technology.
Meticulous data collection and storage must be embarked upon to better understudy this technology in the Nigerian climate to help improve application, development and domestication across the value chain.
A critical element of domestication and sustainability is to embark on training, research and capacity building.
To promote market access through internal and export market development across the value chain.
All efforts must be intensified including to promote the benefit of juncao technology in solving the farmers/herder crises, the communique said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
Others are the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Research Centre for Juncao Technology of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Fatima Sule/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
Source: NAN News