~1~6~__________________________________-"______~w~ww=:.~b~u'~;n~~~~ ~~~:lin~~~,~om~__________________________~8~~=:===='~'CC.T~yOl . ~~~~
5 How drop in yam production sparks appeal for global action 0"
Yam research was a development in the right direction for Africa
SIAKAMOMOH
all 111 world Y;J.nl pn.·
F
dU Cllo" has glo bal ..::alls for i l1 c r~ased global fu nd ing fur resea rch activi tIes 111 vam . .! stat~menl frHIIl tht' J~tem .· lIonal Institute lor Tru{llral -\~ncutturt (IITA! has ~dl(l Yam 1.'< ;1 (I'\)\' that :<n .... oI~
toods.e:.;unw Il' rn il l'lllh'" III Afn.;a. Lat ... st JaIl! from tho:" F(ood .md Agn..:ul
~pl ...
lU re O rl!,amlatil'll shol\ [h.1! wo rl d 3~lnual nm pnl(tu~ tro n tell I I ;. peT 'ent twm :;~ million tons 111 2006 , .. 4t> m.lflll n Ill n ~ U1101F ~"IIi $ca lis
form nre n we~1
1111"1\1 in \<1.111 ~.I rch ItI lad(
Ie the d~lm mg prod uct",I,·saId Roben As k du. II TA OireClor. at a \'am workshur organized bv ihe Inslilute III lbadan that ended r... cen tl~· Of the 200- produ.::tl<ln li g ures. W~s t AfTl':J J'; counted for about 43 mill ion tons. with farmers cultiv;Uing f,mnlandslwthan thesize of
f you' ve ever go ne Itl shop fo r ferlilize rs. yo u know j us t how man y different kinds there ;ife (0 choose from . II can be a bit ove rwhelming just making the simple decision of what to use. To help make Ihings less complicated for yo u. we have broken down the types of(eTlilizefS illlo four majo r cale-gories - Gra n ular ( Dry) Fertilizers, liqu id Fertilizers, Synthetic Fertilizers. and Organic fe rt ilizers. Grlnula.r (Dry) Fertiliurs: Due to their relati ve ease of use and length of dura lion, Gran ular Fertilizers are perh a ps the most po pular among homeowners today. Ir you've seen a neighbour walking behind a spreader with liule sand -like pa rt ides being spread out on the lawn in circles. you've probably seen il done. Gran ular Fert ilizers usually come in 20 -50 pound bags wi th the title of the company. appli cal ion. and properties (I.e. numbers - see: what is fer tilizer) wrinen on the bag. The fertilize r will typically be- ;I time-release (slow) o r fast - release bend of fertil iZer. The following a re Ihe relative- desc riptions an d properties fo r each; Time·Rt1u" (Slow) Ferlllinn: Time-release f~ rtiliuu <!. rC' quickl y becom i ng ;I popula r choice fo r home
I
We have been investing in rice research in Africa bu t we neoed another crop , because flce alon e cannot solve t he problem of food insecurity in Africa
Yarn Production a football fi eld as malor pw ducen; ~ Farm o:r.lo aro: str ug· gli ng, Yield 15 goi ng down because of low soil f~rtilit\' I ncr~ ~s t problems. and Ih~ slow pace of getting lIew t«hnologles to farmers. $(l th o: fa r m e rs are baslcalh' us ing their own tradition~1 meth ods,~ said Asiedu.. Traditionally, land fallow
Source: Coogle.com u~
tl' Do: tho: main 't1u r~., IIi soil nUIn t'nt rerl~msh m~nl but thIS IS no lo nger the \..JS< as av ailabl ~ fa rmla nds get thtnner. leavtne. no fUum fur fallow, B es id es~lncal ta rmmg methods still dom mate the ta rm landscape ~ What we need IS to PUI a cross to farmer'S new lechnologies. For instan.;e. hllw
the\ .;an get hIg h quality ~t:t'd tuben; of I mp nJ\'~ '",n el lC!< "'SledU emphaSized Th., \1\111 lorum, whiCh lire .... expert, trom across Atria and lapan ~\' ul!.ht to lashlOl, n ut the \\~01\ 'tlr~ard tur Incro:ased Vol in produc tlll n b,' pn o rlt1 zlllg deli niteactions needed to be laken in the nat 10 yean•. Makoto Nakatani. Dlrec-
Fertiliser and your lawn What kind of fertilizer should you use? DAWN WEST
izalion over a period of lime (usuall\' 2-6 months) after application by slowly releasing its nutrients through a permeable coating a round the fertilize r. This is obviously a popular choico: 10 most homeowners because. once applied. your lawn will usuall y not need another application until arleast a few mon ths late r. The release of nutrients is oflen a ccelerated during cond ition.!! of moislore (watering) and by the penetration of microorganisms thai worklheir way through the coati ng. Some ofthebcnefits gained by the use of this type of fertilizer are; long- Ias ling effec tive· ness due to slow release. a decreased li kelihood of burning yo ur lawn. relalive easy of usc. fewer applica· lions needed per year. a nd the redu ced chance of t he ferlilizer leachi ng (disso lv. ing or passing) through the soil. Leaching can be a .:on, cern if yo u have less-dense. sandy-soli t hat can allow thl! _.. __ ..
._--. -- .. -.. - . -~
~
too qU ickly, especially during rainy or wei conditions. T he draw-backs of usi ng this Iype offetlilizer is thai it tends to be mo re ex pe nsive. releases best in warm weather. and the effects tend to be slow or delayed depcndingon watering condilions_ Fut-Release Fertilizer.. : Fast-release fer tilizers are known fo r their ability to supply nutrients to the grass faster than the time-release lypeS. hence Ihe name. Even though they'are typically applied in the same manne r as the slow- released, the faSI-
released fertilizers wi ll tend 10 show their results much quicke r with immediate ni trogen availability. However. due to their re1ative! y quick release, they usually last up to a few months between applications. The benefits offast-release fertilizers are: Quick release and green-up. lower .:osts. ease of use. and ability to release in colder weather. The draw-backs are: ease of grass burn. more appl icat ions needed per season . gre ... ler need for walering, and the tendenc y to leach (dissolve or pass) in sandy soils.
Liquid Fertilizers: I. lq ul d Feniliu rs a re LlIm monl v used by attaching a hose to a small contai ne-r filled with fert ilizer and spraying the combination on the lawn. The fertilizer III the bottle or container is III concent rated liqUid form, and must have the power of the hose nuzzle. alo ng with the water, to work. If you do not have water or a hose 10 do this with. you m ight as well stop here and opt for the granular. However. there are a few benefits 10 using a liqUid fertili zer. First. a lmost anyone can operate a hOl;e. the reby creating a easy way 10 apply the fertilizer. Add itionally. if spread evenl y, 'Iou can redu ce the risk of burll1ng your lawn with liqII1d <!.s apposed to granular. Wilh liquid. the nutrients oIfe im mediately available hI th ... roots providing the fasteS I response to fertilizing. AnOlher benefit is ilS effectiveness is a fertilizer and herbicide- .:ombination for weed cont rol . You .:an spray certain a rt-as (whenthe weeds a re) a nd the (!'. fects are almost Immed iale. lust make s ur~ t he weed kille r yllu .:honse will no t harm yourgrassat the sameto .... .. '·Inw .. v.. r Ih .. hllnr:~t
ltIr ti t tht' Planmng and (." " rdinauon DiVISio n of lapa n InternatIOnal Research Cen· ter lo r .... gncultural SCiencb JlRC A"')' said hiS CHuntn "'"uld .:.,llaborale Wit h !ITA lel Imr rr l"c \l1m prodU.:tlllll 10 Am ,J. M\Ilt- will wflrk elll k~v areas that will Unprl'Ve pmducl\on.- h~ salJ lapa n o:s~ plan lied 1II\1~'1 tnen! III \~,cm rruduLlII'11 .. Atn.:,c I' parI nl Ihal ~ "u .., tn' s ~a dier rlo:df!,~ ." J'''',I J"tn.:ol ' n .:omb;HUlIo! 1",,<1 prl\:~ ..: r"o:~, MW", h,I\'to bt'ell mV~IIIII.l III riLe re,e .. n.:h II' J" l n~J t>ur We lleed aoother .. rop bo:~ ... us.. n~1! alllll t' L"'II not snh...· lhe-rroblem ,.1 ""1tJ IIISe.:urltV III J" l rt~J Ihal ,. ",h,' \1l1'l ,~ alS('> " !l1.IIJ "I' ,,,n h.. dddaJ , nIh .. ': oI~~oI' J . .1II,.tl l~' UI.'l<'1 ~ "I'. '·oIn·' ~"ulu f\, -!t,retl u 'I"'IX m<llllh, ....·llh .,ut am .... 'phl~t1C1laJ tt!\:IIII" 1 '1(\ . ,I "\lalcl" Ihal ha' lll.h.1t
I I~!,-!.(<.Ir_.~~am~t fo" ....
rbt" oIl,J lalllln .... .J"SI~IU said Ihe supt,, ' ri to, IIRCA ~ 1\1 vam resl!ard, W'oI' .. d e~ell' pment III Ih ~ Tlf(hl ,llnxtlllll fo r Afn .:a
,lrawbild, h ' U.loHl t( IIqu lJ " Iho: ';"51, espo:..::la llv I' \'\)U ha" e iI Inger til wn . Add l lIt1nath' SiIlC... t he lerliltzer 1V0rks immediately. you WIll lIeed to tCTlilize- mor~ of tell due 10 11 5 sho rl-term effects Agalll . the bigger the tawn. the b l g~er the cost! Synthe tic fertilizers; Synlheti.: ferlilizers are usually manufactured chemIcally and can provide a more Immediale release and green· iIlg eife ~ t. Howeve r. some a rgue that the etf«ts are nlll na tural. thereby not proVidIng the nUltlenlS n ... e d~ d I'IV the soil. The beneti ts [II s~nthelk fertilizers a re that thev can a ct fast. penel(att' the SOIl. provide a qUlLk re .)ponse oInd gre-emng elfeLt. a nd are .:aS'{ 10 use. However. the draw-backs are that tho: effec ts a re often tem poran . Ihereby reqUJrlng ml're ap· plications_ SVntheli.:.) ,;an alslI eaSily burn Ihe lawn II not properly appl ied. Organic Fertil izers: Sumt' people belie v~ t ha i the best fertilizers are Ihu)< that are totall v naturoll. (. 11 j(anic fe rlil iz~n 3r~ Ihlls .. made from once' ltv,"!: III g ... nisms and / n r th~ l; 1>\ produc ts , OUe n 3PI'It~'J liver tnt' lawn h \' ~ p t'';l a j ~p r t'aders. s hllv d ~ . fo/ I.e' .lnd hands . .. rgillll\-~ lend I,. he slnw w bro:ak -d" wlI .11 10..1 rd ...ase ""roll-en . r ht' l ~ " " alsullnrruve Ihe teXlure all\J ", rt", .. ./Ih .. hlwII