Oluwafolake Adenike Akinbode strongly believes that “agriculture is life.” The youngest of five children, Akinbode says her hard-working parents, both of whom were teachers, struggled to make ends meet—and it was the produce from their small farm that often meant the difference between hunger and hope for the family. “I can’t recall some aspects of my childhood without tears,” says Akinbode. “My parents weren’t paid regularly, and times were tough between paychecks. I remember my mom telling us one evening, ‘Wash the pots, wash the pots! Your father is coming home with money.’ But he didn’t receive his salary again and we didn’t eat. If not for our garden, I don’t know what we would have done. That little something kept us alive.”