COOU: THE UNIVERSITY THAT IS FARMING ITS WAY TO FOOD SECURITY

There comes a time when a story you have written once demands that you return to it. Not because there is nothing new to say, but because the story itself has grown. This is one of those times

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In October 2024, barely a year after Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha assumed office as Vice-Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, I wrote a piece titled “COOU Ensuring Food Security; Moves to Feed the Nation at Large.” At the time, the University had cultivated almost 10 hectares of cassava, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore what was happening in the agricultural space of the institution.

Then, in September 2025, I returned to the subject with another piece titled “The Rising Profile of COOU’s Push on Food Security.” By then, the story had expanded. Vegetables, pepper, catfish and other agricultural initiatives were becoming visible components of the University's activities. I wrote then that, judging by the direction of the administration, COOU was gradually positioning itself to feed not just its immediate community but the nation.

Today, I find myself at the crossroads again. But this time, the crossroads looks different. The road has become wider, the farms have become bigger, and the vision has become clearer.

Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha's approach to agriculture has been strategic. Beyond planting and harvesting, her administration has pursued partnerships and Memoranda of Understanding that are increasingly translating into tangible projects within the University environment. It is one thing to sign an MoU. It is another thing to walk into a farm and see the agreement becoming reality.

That was precisely what happened last week when members of the University's Public Relations team visited the agricultural project located behind Emelda Hostel. And let me say this without hesitation: EVERYONE NEEDS TO VISIT THIS FARM.

Because sometimes, photographs are not enough. Seeing is believing.

Standing before the farm, one thing immediately became obvious: this is not symbolic agriculture. This is production. The farm currently has about 20,000 stands of Habanero pepper, and harvesting has already commenced. According to the information available to us during the visit, more than 400KG can be harvested per week.

And what struck me most was the health of the plants. The green was not merely green; it was the kind of green that tells you something is working. The plants were healthy, thriving and already producing. At the time of our visit, the farm was in its fourth week of harvest. And that is important, because what we were seeing was not the end of the story. It was the beginning of a production cycle.

As the Agronomist took us around the farm and explained the different activities taking place, another revelation followed. A nursery containing more than 10,000 Moringa seedlings is being prepared for transplantation to a one-hectare Moringa farm. There is also a plantain plantation covering more than two hectares, alongside watermelon, tomatoes and sweet cucumber. And, lest I forget, there are six greenhouses supporting the agricultural activities.

As I walked through the farm and listened to the Agronomist explain what was being cultivated, I could not help but think back to the article I wrote in 2024.

What is happening at COOU is important because the beneficiaries will not only be consumers who eventually buy the University's produce. Our students stand to gain tremendously, particularly students in the Faculty of Agriculture. These farms provide something that no textbook can fully substitute: hands-on experience. That is how a university becomes more than a place where degrees are awarded. It becomes a place where knowledge is applied.

The return to our roots, I would say again and again, should also be a return to agriculture.

There was a time when agriculture was our oil boom. Perhaps, in a changing world, agriculture is becoming that again.

And COOU is positioning itself to be part of that story.

Under the administration of Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha, agriculture is increasingly becoming part of the University's institutional identity. Not simply as an academic discipline, but as an avenue for production, innovation, practical education and food security.

I have written it before, and I am saying it again: with the pace and scale of what is happening, I believe the time has come for us to begin imagining COOU beyond the traditional definition of a University.

Because when you have cassava, catfish, vegetables, Habanero pepper, plantain, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber and Moringa; when you have greenhouses; when these activities are increasingly organised around production, practical learning and sustainability, you are witnessing something bigger than isolated agricultural projects.

You are witnessing an agricultural ecosystem taking shape.

And perhaps, when next you mention Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, another description should begin to accompany the name:

The Food Basket of the Nation.

It is no longer merely an aspiration.

We are earning it.

©COOUNewS 2026