The Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme of the United Nations’ 10-Year Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10 YFP), has endorsed the Organic Food System Programme (OFSP) of the University, as one of its eight core initiatives. FUNAAB and the Food Quality and Health Association, as the lead organisation of OFSP core initiative of the SFS programme, had earlier gone into partnership, with the intent of forming a successful team, to realise UN objectives.
According to the OFSP Co-ordinator in FUNAAB and a member of the Organic Agriculture Project in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (OAPTIN), Professor Victor Olowe, OFSP, as a forum, was set up to correct the dietary patterns of Nigerians, especially the elite that are becoming more ‘westernised’ with dire consequences for public health. It also created awareness for consumers to eat organically-produced foods such as vegetables and animal products. He noted that OFSP was designed for all stakeholders, along the value chains of diverse agricultural commodities, to interact and make significant contributions towards the reorientation of producers and consumers on the need to eat healthy foods.
Professor Olowe, who is also the Director, Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC), disclosed that the programme combines sustainable food production (organic agriculture) and sustainable food consumption (organic consumption patterns) in a system, with its overall goal of bridging the existing value gap between production and consumption, through the implementation of result-oriented projects across the globe. He hinted further that the Organic Food System Programme, comprises growing number of partner organisations and individuals, seeking to transform communities toward true sustainability, based on regenerative production practices, healthy diets and sustainable lifestyles. According to him, by aligning with its like-minded initiatives of the 10YFP’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme, new opportunities for synergy and increasing positive impact, would be developed.
Professor Olowe noted that with partner organisations and involved individuals on all continents, OFSP would help to share the benefits of organic practices with interested initiatives across all societies, while adding that the University was a recognised partner of OFSP. The OFSP Co-ordinator further disclosed that other FUNAAB OFSP team members include Professor Adewale Dipeolu of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD); Professor Ibiyemi Olayiwola of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Food Science and Human Ecology (COLFHEC); Professor Dorcas Adegbite of the Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC); Dr. Abiodun Adeola of the Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR) and Mrs. Oluwatosin Adeyeye of Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre.