Post by Trade Coach on May 7, 2022 22:25:26 GMT 1
Boom In Cassava Production In Nigeria: The Federal Government Of Nigeria Commences Training Of 120 Cassava Farmers In Pest Control In The Country
Cassava is one of Africa’s most widely cultivated staple crops grown on an estimated 10 million hectares of land per year in over 40 African countries.
About 120 cassava farmers from Ondo, Edo, and Ekiti states of Nigeria have commenced training in the management and control of pests and diseases affecting their crops, especially whiteflies on cassava.
The government has complained that whiteflies had infected cassava plants with cassava mosaic disease, leading to consistent reduction in output in some cassava-producing states in the country.
The Federal Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, when speaking with journalists at a recent workshop at the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) was doing everything possible to eradicate whiteflies, this being the reason for this capacity building.
What are whiteflies?
White flies are tiny, sap-sucking insects that attack vegetables and ornamental plantings, especially during the warm weather.
They excrete sticky honeydew and cause yellowing or death of the leaves. They look like minuscule white moths. They are tiny flying bugs and can be as small as 1 or 2 mm with a wingspan of 3mm and can easily fly away when disturbed.
Represented by the Ondo state Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Tony Otunoye, the participants were drawn from Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo states following the letters of complaints from those states.
According to the coordinator, the training became necessary in order to sensitize the farmers and other stakeholders along the cassava value chain from the three states through the workshop to spread the basic concept of agricultural best practices on whitefly and disease control in cassava production.
He said, “Whitefly is an old scourge, but cassava farmers are now overlooking it, but the disease is coming much stronger. The cassava varieties that we released then are losing vigour, so the Ondo state Programmes Manager of Agriculture Development Programme and his team alerted the Federal Government and we have to swing into action.”
How do we control pests and diseases ravaging Nigeria’s cassava plantations?
In the country today, high infestation of pests and diseases on the cassava plant has been very drastic and has resulted in heavy losses to farmers and at the same time reducing the quality and nutritional value of the crop.
Did you know that pests and diseases can drastically affect the yield of your cassava farm? That is the reason why we should pay attention to the discussion we are going to have in this article.
The cassava plant is of great importance to Nigeria at this period of severe economic difficulty as it serves as a source of livelihood to most families, commerce and industrial export groups.
A country like Thailand has average yield per hectare of cassava to be 14.5 hectares per tonne, while Nigeria has an average yield of 10.6 hectares per ton. I think and also strongly believe that if the country can try and eliminate to a great extent the presence of dangerous pests and diseases plaguing our cassava plantations, the average yield of cassava will rise and the same acreage we have been cultivating will give the country more yield.
This is the reason why this training workshop is apt at this time so as to sensitize the local farmers of the danger in overlooking whiteflies and havoc they can cause the farmers and the nation at large.
The farmers should be made to understand that a loss in the yield of the crop due to pests and diseases’ attacks will definitely result to loss for the farmer first and the cassava value chain in general.
To show our seriousness in this matter, we are going to do an article soon on: The list of pests attacking cassava in Nigeria and how to control them for greater cassava harvest.
So stay with us.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
Cassava is one of Africa’s most widely cultivated staple crops grown on an estimated 10 million hectares of land per year in over 40 African countries.
About 120 cassava farmers from Ondo, Edo, and Ekiti states of Nigeria have commenced training in the management and control of pests and diseases affecting their crops, especially whiteflies on cassava.
The government has complained that whiteflies had infected cassava plants with cassava mosaic disease, leading to consistent reduction in output in some cassava-producing states in the country.
The Federal Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, when speaking with journalists at a recent workshop at the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) was doing everything possible to eradicate whiteflies, this being the reason for this capacity building.
What are whiteflies?
White flies are tiny, sap-sucking insects that attack vegetables and ornamental plantings, especially during the warm weather.
They excrete sticky honeydew and cause yellowing or death of the leaves. They look like minuscule white moths. They are tiny flying bugs and can be as small as 1 or 2 mm with a wingspan of 3mm and can easily fly away when disturbed.
Represented by the Ondo state Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Tony Otunoye, the participants were drawn from Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo states following the letters of complaints from those states.
According to the coordinator, the training became necessary in order to sensitize the farmers and other stakeholders along the cassava value chain from the three states through the workshop to spread the basic concept of agricultural best practices on whitefly and disease control in cassava production.
He said, “Whitefly is an old scourge, but cassava farmers are now overlooking it, but the disease is coming much stronger. The cassava varieties that we released then are losing vigour, so the Ondo state Programmes Manager of Agriculture Development Programme and his team alerted the Federal Government and we have to swing into action.”
How do we control pests and diseases ravaging Nigeria’s cassava plantations?
In the country today, high infestation of pests and diseases on the cassava plant has been very drastic and has resulted in heavy losses to farmers and at the same time reducing the quality and nutritional value of the crop.
Did you know that pests and diseases can drastically affect the yield of your cassava farm? That is the reason why we should pay attention to the discussion we are going to have in this article.
The cassava plant is of great importance to Nigeria at this period of severe economic difficulty as it serves as a source of livelihood to most families, commerce and industrial export groups.
A country like Thailand has average yield per hectare of cassava to be 14.5 hectares per tonne, while Nigeria has an average yield of 10.6 hectares per ton. I think and also strongly believe that if the country can try and eliminate to a great extent the presence of dangerous pests and diseases plaguing our cassava plantations, the average yield of cassava will rise and the same acreage we have been cultivating will give the country more yield.
This is the reason why this training workshop is apt at this time so as to sensitize the local farmers of the danger in overlooking whiteflies and havoc they can cause the farmers and the nation at large.
The farmers should be made to understand that a loss in the yield of the crop due to pests and diseases’ attacks will definitely result to loss for the farmer first and the cassava value chain in general.
To show our seriousness in this matter, we are going to do an article soon on: The list of pests attacking cassava in Nigeria and how to control them for greater cassava harvest.
So stay with us.
Our company is one of the best companies in Agro-Export Business in Nigeria today, we train individuals and corporate organizations on how to do Export Business the right way; if you are interested, please contact the admin of this forum now for further details.
