By Usman Aliyu
A professor of Cropping Systems Agronomy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Sylvester Ewansiha, says Africa’s hunger crisis requires integrated agricultural solutions rather than isolated interventions.
Ewansiha made the assertion on Thursday, while delivering the university’s 376th Inaugural Lecture, titled: “Where, O Hunger, Is Your Cure?” in Benin.
He said the combination of improved crop varieties, sound agronomic practices, healthy soils, climate-resilient farming systems and farmer-centred innovation remained critical to achieving sustainable food security.
“The cure for hunger lies not in isolated interventions but in the synergy of innovations that work together to create productive, profitable, resilient and sustainable farming systems,” he said.
Ewansiha said Nigeria and Africa has considerable agricultural potential but millions remained vulnerable to food insecurity because actual productivity remained below attainable levels.
He said closing the productivity gap required combining improved genetics with sustainable agronomy, soil restoration, climate resilience and innovations tailored to farmers’ needs.
The professor said his more than three decades of research had evolved from crop improvement and nutrient management to intercropping, crop-livestock integration, soil fertility restoration and climate resilience.
He said his research on maize showed that drought- and Striga-tolerant varieties could sustain productivity under nutrient stress when combined with appropriate fertilizer management.
According to him, studies conducted under rainforest conditions identified about 60 kilogrammes of nitrogen per hectare as an economically optimum rate.
He added that split nitrogen application, timed to coincide with crop demand, could improve fertilizer-use efficiency and reduce nutrient losses.
Ewansiha said research also showed that modern drought-tolerant maize cultivars responded positively to higher plant populations, reinforcing the need for genotype-specific agronomic recommendations.
He stressed that neither improved seeds nor fertilizer alone could deliver sustainable productivity gains without appropriate agronomic management.
On cowpea, soybean and lablab, the don said the crops could contribute to integrated food, livestock and soil fertility systems.
He said research on Lablab purpureus showed its potential to provide food, livestock forage and ecological benefits through biological nitrogen fixation and biomass production.
According to him, an evaluation of 46 lablab accessions recorded substantial genetic variation, with some producing grain yields of up to 2.4 tonnes per hectare.
He added that maize planted after lablab outperformed maize following natural fallow, even without nitrogen fertilizer in the study.
Ewansiha also advocated the strategic use of organic materials, including neem leaf mulch and Chromolaena odorata residues, to improve soil health and nutrient management.
“Part of the cure for hunger lies beneath the feet of farmers—in healthy, living soils capable of sustaining productive agriculture,” he said.
The professor linked food security to climate resilience, saying farmers in Edo were already experiencing flooding, soil erosion, rising temperatures, declining soil fertility, weeds, pests and diseases.
He said farmers were responding through mixed cropping, intercropping, crop rotation, adjustment of planting dates and changes in fertilizer and crop-protection practices.
He, however, identified inadequate credit, limited climate information, weak institutional support and poor rural infrastructure as constraints to effective adaptation.
Ewansiha proposed five pillars for Africa’s agricultural transformation: sustainable intensification, climate resilience, integrated farming systems, technological innovation and human capacity development.
He called for increased use of precision agriculture, remote sensing, artificial intelligence and digital advisory services, while ensuring that such technologies remained accessible and relevant to smallholder farmers.
The don also urged stronger extension services, access to climate information and credit, improved rural infrastructure and policies supporting climate-resilient agricultural technologies.
He said universities has a critical role in developing scientists, extension professionals, entrepreneurs and policymakers capable of addressing increasingly complex food-system challenges.
According to him, his research career spans 34 years, with 60 journal publications and supervision of 17 graduate students.
He added that his research involved evaluating more than 2,500 varieties across four agro-ecologies and seven states, reaching an estimated 4,500 farmers in collaboration with five institutions.
Ewansiha said the evidence generated through decades of research showed that solutions to hunger existed but required effective translation of knowledge into action.
“The cure for hunger lies in integration,” he said, stressing the need to combine improved varieties, agronomy, livestock feeding, soil restoration, biological processes, technology and informed policies.
He said coordinated action by researchers, educators, policymakers, development practitioners and farmers could transform agricultural knowledge into sustainable food security. (NAN)
AUO/CHOM
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Edited by Chioma Ugboma