15
Ni gerian Tribune Tuesday, 2 August, 2011
-AJllaji IY slJk S"}" IVU .. F
ADAM r\ has become a popular programme "mong Illany pTilctising farmers ill different ",1rts of lhe oountry . It ha!l helped many farme rs both to irn:rease their prod uction capaci ty, and also meet Ihe objectives of food scatrity programme. II has also giving hope to many fanners. cspcciall)' those who do nol ha\"(> re5OUrct'S or what it takes 10 practice the profession in on:tcr to make good income . Hmvevf'r, despite the ilCa'ptability and huge s uccess recorded by FADAMJ\ I and II in the coun try !l;ncc its incpplion, the programme is stilt fad ng some chal1enges. But since then' i~ nolhing in life tha t would not experi· ence <;OfflC diffictJllieo; or P.1SS through rer1ain problems, there IS always a way oul ~. The Zo nal Project Coordinato r, South-Wesl fo r ~A DAMA Ill, AlI11\ti Rasak S"lawu, stated this in an
interview with TribtJn~ Ag riculture. He exp lained that thousands of farmers in d ifferent parts of lhe country h;l\"e henefitted a lot (rom FADAfvlA I and II despite challenges facing the progra mme, stressing that since FADAMA t'. lC perts .md fanners ha ve.experienced whilt it takes 10 key into FADAMA projcd:, there is no point exercising (ear tha t FAOAMA 111, which recen tly began, would not be anothcr success s.torv. According to him, " FADAI\IA· programme enjoyed good relationship with other agricuttu re stakeholders and progm mmes, no wo nder FADA I\·IA has become a household na me il l110ng fa nners ilnd state govemment s across the country. FADAMA hilS been running unh indered in many states of the federation and because of the huge sucress reco rded so far, as wen as its contribution to the food 5KUrity programme of the coun try, many state governors are now eager and ready to support FADAMA III projt-ct," he stated. Mhaj; Salawu explained tha t one majo r dlal1enge facing FADAMA which is nut hidden is the problem of high level of po\"erty amonS Nigerian farmers, especially those in ru l"ill areas. In his wo rds, Hwe cannot s,,1Y the progmmme does not ha ve sonte challenges facing it. The Inrlh is that" there isstill a high Il'vel of pollerty among Nigerian fanners and this singular factor J.lOSCS a serious challenge to the development of agriculture in the coun tr)',~ he slated. Other d "1I1engc:s disclosed by the Zonal Pro;ect Coor· dinator ofFADAMA m in Soulh-West are the altitude of some local government chainl1en to ag ric lltural development, as wel1 as deJa y by some state governors in cunIributil1g their counterpart fund to FADAMA project. He further stated tha t FADAMA I and U I"we bo.~ able to impact positi\'clyon the lives of famlCrs in the country because, "\VC al ways encourage famters 10 aclopt commercial agricullurc, train famlCrs to plant quality scros so as to ach~ve bumper harvest because we kno w lh..1t when they
Traditional ruler warns against neglect of agric sector Jude Ou ai,
Enugll ---- - --H E tradi li on al r ule r of Adogbalalo Kingdom in Awg u Local GQvern men l ArcOl of En ug u Siale, tgwe Chris Oko}'c O ti, has wa rnL'iJ against to tal neglect o f agricultural sector in the cou ntry, s"lying if not checked, there could be food crisis capable of g ri ndi ng the natiol1 's economy. Igwe Ot i said Ihat agriculture, be it in develo ped or d e\Telop in g n ations, rema ins a very \Tital secto r tha t guarantecs a s u stai nable develo p· menl . The royal fat he r said , Ho ur poli ti ca l lea d e rs h,w e forgottcn so soon, when ag ricult u re U!Oe to be Ihe m ain s tay o f N i geria 's~ no my before the advent o i1. Lay ing e m p ha sis o n o il to th e d e trime nt o f o ther God given natural Ce5Qurces, especia lly agr icu ltu re, rna} o ne d ay
T
bOOmCf<l " g a nd spe ll doom fo r the nal ion . He, however. rcgre tled that ra lher than revamp in g the s ec tor w hi ch h i'l d bee n re lega ted to the b ack· g ro und ove r the yeMs . the present admi nislration in Enugu Sla te a nd N igeria at large had rontinued to Pil}' lip service to it. Speaking w ith newsmen in his palace d uring the 2011 Adogba l:. to an nuat new yam festival.
serious food crisis in the nearest h ltu Te. "I musl be fra nk wi th yo u ge nlle m en of the press, the wily <Jnd nhlnnel'" those in positions of au thorities are neglecting the ag ricultura l sector tn thi s coun tr y, includ ing Enugu Siale. is q ui te un· fortu nate, alld if no t add ressed, s uch a situation m ay lead us to ser ious food c ri s is . Thi s m ay th reaten our economy, he stated. Th e rule r furth er
ture on economically and environment ally s usta inable basis. J-Ie pointed oul that the im port;mc!! o f ag ricult u re in any nation cann o t be ove r emphaSised as it rem:l ins the key 10 enhanced food securit y and poverty redu ction. Wh ile ap p lil udi ng GovcrnorSul1i van Chime for the infrastructurill developmentthal has so rar taking place in the state wi thin Ihe Inst fi ve yea rs of his adm inistration, tile
Igwe Otima;nta;ncd thai unl ess Ihe current ugl y silu alion w as addressed by va rious tiers o f govemments, tile project development objecli ve of the Fadam a 1 t 1 o f th e Fed eral Government may be a mirage. He also noted Ihat the age 10llg neglect of the agricultura l secto r in th e country h as done m o re harm tha n good to t h e economy, adding thaI the situa tion if no l checked , may lead Ihe nalion into
s tilted that h is comm unit y, Ad ogbal a to a lOlle has the ag ri cul tural cap" biJity o f feed ing the entife Enugu state and beyond if empowered w ith the necessa ry incenti ves a nd s up port, stress in g thai for Ni g eria's economy to become one of Ih e co untries wi lh leadi ng econo mies come 2020" Ihe federal, state and local governments must begin to show serious interest in d evcloping s mallholder agricul.
monil rch urged him 10 provide en:.bling en vlronment (or rural fa rmers in the slate, especially as it conce rns access roads to the hi nterlands fo r cvacu"t ion o f farm produce. fertilisers and credit facilities. He said thro u g h s u ch go\'e rn ment s upport services, the poore r section of the rural popula tion wo uld I start contributing to tle d evel op m e nt o f Ihei r community and sta tc <I I large.
experience bumper h.m..cst. they wC'Uld definitely ha\"t· guud profi t which would make t1 ~ slllite to banks. TIlis we h.we been able to achie\'t" by regularl)' organising capacity building tmining (Of ru ral fa nners," he ~i1tt'd. Athaji SalaMI also said FADM.'IA d ~ not deal wi th ind ividual fa rmers except those who form themseh-cs into a group, il55Ociation or society "Ru ral f<lrmers are our benefidaries, we are able 10 affec:t the lives of man" farmers since we often embark on wh:tt is called Wealth R,1 nking (WR) to Identify and differenhate roor fanners and those ",ho actually need help il nd ass;slrmcc. We alS11 d o w h;'1 t is called Part icipa tor}" Ru ral Appraisal (PRA) to pinpoin t the ta rget audience ilnd this IS one of the secrets of FA DA MA project," he pn!"ited. Alhaji 5<l la\\, u, however, appealled to other stakeholders in Ihe n"tion's agriru ltural sectur to con tribute thei r expected quotas so tha t the oountry could experi. en ee speedy agricultur.rl development, just ilS he ad~'ised Slate governments In the count ry 10 contri bute their coun· terpilrt fund towards the succt'S" of FADM.'IA 111.
Converting water hyacinth to or attic fertiliser
A
Keny an bioch emi st has s u cceeded in convcrti ng o ne o f the m os t destructive aquatic plants into farm prod ucts for crops and livestock. Dr Simon N Mwaura has designed equipment that is able to crush 10 to nnes o f w at er h y;tci nth (Ejchhornia crassipes) in e ight hou rs, p roduci ng a polent fertiliser for dI'),land farming. " I use the liq u id o rga nic fe rliliser to g row watermelon. and the harvests are far healthier th ..n I used 10 get before", said a Eastem Kenyan (armer. Martin Ndege. Josephine Mulei, from the Rift Va lley Province of the country . Speaking further, the biochemist said "d uring the lasl season. J used the liquid fertiliser on my potato farm. and I harvested · l 22 bags of the product jus t from t hactare H. The hyacinth is converted into three m<lin products, including " liquid fertiliser, one based on granules and a mineral salt for livcstock. Field trials over a period of six years in Dohai, Kenya and Zambia havc also demonstrated that the products are rich in nitrates" phosphorus and potilssiUIll and have a capacity to convert desert sand into loamy soils, as weJ1 as boosting moisture retention.
Food from waste water ~GETA BLE
gardening using treated waste wa ter is providing a welco me cash slrea m for urba n farm e rs in Z imbil b wean ci ty , Bula wayo. More than 1,000 farmers who previously eam ed 575 a -year from backya rd gardens. now m ake an average of $720 a yea r '$C.lling vegetilbles and crops from a pilOI p rojecl launched by the Bulawayo a t)' Council and the Mu n ici pal Developme nt Parblership Eastern and Southern Africa (?'-tDPESA). The w ale r is trea ted 10 Wo rl d Health Organisation (WHO ) standards so as to be used in ag ricullure and vegetables must be cooked before eating to reduce the risk of pathogens. "The use of mru'ginal waler is not very common~. said MDPESA uthan agrictJlture programme coordinator, Takawira Mubvami . " Bu.le w ayo has pioneered the use of treated WOller for crops.~ teaf vegelables such as rape, as well as s ugar beans and maize are being grown at the 350 he Gum Tree Plantation Allotment project on the outskirts of th e cty. . For a rarmer, ",, r Kel II ·U\ Nkorno, t1le projeCt . , has ensured a stead y income 10 pay school fee s. Nkomo said al first. cuslomers were sceptical about I produce, but are increasingly willing to buy the vegetables once safety is explained. - Spo~ I
--~------~~----~~--~--=