Food Insecurity: Firm unveils farm estate, urges youths to embrace agriculture

By Praise Chinecherem

Teva Foods and green economy stakeholders have called on Nigerian youths to embrace sustainable agriculture that merges smart technology with climate-resilient practices as a response to food insecurity, climate change, and unemployment.

The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Teva Foods, Chima Christian made the call at the commissioning of the Teva Foods Jos-1 Greenhouse Farm Estate, held at the company’s facility in Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State.

He said the project was born out of concern over food insecurity and unemployment in Nigeria.

He noted that the greenhouse was designed to promote organic food production using a fusion of climate-adaptive strategies and precision farming technologies.

According to Christian, the Jos-1 Greenhouse Farm Estate is a 12,400 bellpepper plant capacity farm operation. He said the Teva Foods has also partnered with Royal Mustard Agro Limited to cultivate over 17,000 tubers of yam and plantain crops in their joint operations in Anambra State.

“We were tired of just complaining about GMOs, inorganic foods, food inflation, and unemployment—so we decided to act.

“There is need for ethical agricultural practices, cautioning against profit-driven genetic modification and food management systems that compromise consumer health,” he added.

Chima stated that Teva Foods aims to inspire a new generation of ethical agri-preneurs who will drive sustainable food systems in Africa.

His words: “As at today, a significant proportion of Nigeria’s food infrastructure is born by rural and mostly peasant farmers. Worse still, our farmers are mostly middle-aged to elderly people.

“No serious country, especially one with a growing population, leaves a huge chunk of its food infrastructure in the hands of that demography.

“We want to see young Nigerians come into agriculture, and entirely own the space as we have done in the entertainment and tech spaces.

“That is why we have commenced various training, internship and outreach programmes to inspire the next generation of young smart farmers.”

On employment, Chima disclosed that the Teva Foods Jos-1 project provided temporary jobs for 10 to 15 workers daily over a 40-day period, while full-time staff have since been retained for ongoing operations.

He added that the company’s growing distribution network is expected to generate further indirect jobs for transporters and suppliers.

Also speaking, Desmond Chollom, the Chief Executive Officer of Earthmosphere Nigeria and consultant to the project, described the greenhouse initiative as part of a broader climate adaptation strategy aimed at enhancing food production across Plateau State and beyond.

Chollom said climate change remains an existential threat to agriculture and urged governments at all levels to support youth-focused smart farming initiatives through training, infrastructure, and access to technology.

A participant in the Teva Foods Internship Programme, Mercy Chineke said the initiative had provided her with hands-on experience in smart farming and boosted her interest in organic food production.

“I’ve always been passionate about organic farming. This project gave me the practical exposure I needed, and I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with others.

“I urge young people to embrace agriculture as a career path,” she said.