Dr. Nonye Soludo Celebrates Maize Harvest and Pushes Organic Agriculture in Anambra
How the First Lady is Turning the Government House into a Model Farm
AgricNews Digest
The Government House in Awka has a new story to tell, and it smells like fresh roasted corn. Dr. Nonye Soludo, wife of Anambra State Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has just celebrated a maize harvest from her personal garden at the new “Light House.” In a short, joyful video that quickly went viral, she stood among tall stalks of corn and invited Ndi Anambra to “come and eat corn with me.”
It was not a political statement. It was a practical one. She held up the cobs and told viewers the maize was purely organic, not GMO. Her reason was simple and direct. “This is the way to go,” she said. “Have a corn farm, so that when you have a desire for it, you’ll harvest some and eat.” For many watching, it felt like permission to return to the land, even in the city. The image of the First Lady harvesting from her own backyard turned healthy eating from an idea into something you could see, touch, and taste.
Mrs. Soludo’s work does not stop at wellness walks and aerobics. Through her NGO, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo she has been quietly building a movement that connects health, nutrition, and agriculture. The philosophy is clear. Healthy living is not only about exercise routines. It is also about what ends up on your plate and where it came from.
That is why the NGO recently began the distribution of 5,000 packs of hybrid non-GMO seeds to households across Anambra. The announcement was made during the group’s routine fitness sessions in Dunukofia, Nnewi North, Idemili North, and Idemili South. Members of the Healthy Living Team handed out the packs to participants, and more distributions are planned statewide. Each pack is carefully curated to help families start something real in their compounds. Inside are varieties of maize, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, cabbage, okra, and other vegetables. The goal is to make it possible for any home, no matter how small, to grow food that is safe, nutritious, and affordable.
This is not the first time. Since 2024, the initiative has already distributed 25,000 packs of seeds to residents. Before that, 8,000 farmers received free vegetable seedlings, including maize and sweet corn. The scale shows intention. This is about building a culture, not running a one-off program.
The vision is also getting physical structure. As part of the broader
Healthy Living campaign, the First Lady has launched the Healthy Living Community Garden and Farmers’ Market project in all 21 local government areas of Anambra. The plan is for each council secretariat to host a community garden. Those same gardens will feed weekly farmers’ markets where fresh produce from local growers will be sold at reduced prices.
The idea is to close the loop. Grow it locally, eat it locally, and keep the money in the community. For families struggling with food prices, it offers direct relief. For farmers, it offers a guaranteed place to sell. And for the state, it builds resilience against food inflation and supply shocks.
At the heart of all this is a consistent message from Dr. Soludo. Food security starts at home. She urges Anambra people, especially women, to embrace household gardening and subsistence farming not just to feed their families, but to create surplus for the market. Growing your own food, she argues, is an act of dignity. It reduces dependence, improves nutrition, and puts healthier options within reach of children.
She frames it as stewardship. When you plant, nurture, and harvest, you participate in God’s cycle of provision. You also protect your household from the volatility of the market. The maize in her garden is proof. It did not come from an import bill or a long supply chain. It came from soil, water, and care right in the Government House.
The reason the video resonated is because it was authentic. In a time when food prices are high and many feel disconnected from how their food is produced, the First Lady modeled something different. She showed joy in labor. She showed that leadership can also mean demonstration. “There is always a deep joy that comes with harvesting from your own farm,” she said, and people believed her because they could see it on her face.
It was not about politics. It was about possibility. If corn can grow at the Light House, it can grow in your compound in Nnewi, Onitsha, or Ekwulobia.
Soludo is using her platform to champion organic, household-level agriculture in Anambra. The maize harvest was more than a celebration. It was a testimony and an invitation. Her work through Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo is tying health to the soil, and telling Ndi Anambra that the path to food sufficiency may begin with a seed in your backyard.