Abuja Living Lab
Objective:
This living aims to increase the capabilities of youth in agribusiness with a focus on healthy food production and commercialization in urban and peri-urban environments, where space is a big challenge.
Activities:
In this living lab, the youths receive training on different healthy food production innovations such as:
- An improved cage for poultry and turkey farming under limited space
- Collapsible fishponds for the co-production of catfish and tilapia for fish farming under limited space
- An improved mushroom production method that holds up to 5000 substrate bags under limited farming space and uses a renewable energy source for substrate preparation
- An easy-to-use mushroom spent substrate as fertilizer for market gardening,
- Improved snail production techniques under adverse climatic conditions (high temperature such as that in Gwagwalada)
- Improved catfish degutting and drying techniques to increase quality and reduce post-harvest loss
- Banana/plantain-fish integrated farming system to create a favourable micro-environment for fish farming, especially under high-temperature conditions
- Improved hydroponic system for leafy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, and kale production under limited space
- Sack farming for underutilized crops species, and
- Biofortification for crops such as maize and cassava
Ibadan, Ilorin, Lagos, Kano and Abuja Living Labs
Objective:
These living labs seek to promote diverse and safe food for better health, identify and close the gaps that reduce access to healthy diets in Nigeria.
Activities:
- Examine plants, ruminant, fisheries sectors for the incidence and extent of food safety risks (mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticide residues)
- Increase awareness on the need for healthy diets though capacity development targeted at producers, processors and consumers on the risks and management methods for food risk management
- Increase awareness on the appropriate use of good agricultural practices, agrochemicals to reduce the risks of misuse.
- Conduct rapid in-situ testing to demonstrate the value of aflatoxin mitigation and expose the risks of bad agricultural practices as it relates to food safety
- Co-develop strategies for investigating risks and management strategies that are valuable for sectors of the living lab
- Develop information factsheets relevant for the users to create awareness on indigenous products that are easy to access and nutrient-dense
- Providing advice on innovative food combinations, demographic appropriate knowledge relevant for healthy diets
- Assess impact of diets on human health (liver disease) in healthcare institutions