'N~g~Ha, like Ghana,"should use Bambara beans to fi~~ poverty' ~_
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Joseph Nltetiah Ben:hie is a respected agriculture expert in Kumasl. Ghana. His tireless efforts and cxmtributi~ns to the development of agriculture in rus country has made him to enjoy wide acceptability among Ghanaian farm.... who preferred to call him Bambara beans expert. Seye Adeniyi had an enoounler· with him in Ghana during a conference organiSEd for selected agricultural experts in Africa, and he spoke on why Nigeria and other African countries should intensify efforts at promoting the planting of Bambara b~ans, describing the leguminous-crop-as >-poverty.fighting-crop that co1!ic! shoot Nigma to limelight. Exrerpts:
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nomic values? Like I said, 8ambara or Gombo be,HlS is a
droug,hHolcrant crop. Nlllrilio ni'llly. il is ri ch in protein like cowpea and !mybeans. It contains 15 to 25 per cent protein and between 53 10 60 per cent
carbohydrate. II is a lso very low in fat (about 9 per cent lipid).
Bamba ra bea ns or Gombo beans is well known in Ghana and the Ghanaia n government
has discovered its employment generating patential. The crop has i11so been declared asa food se-auily crur,- This declaralion by t Ie govern ment contri buted a lot to the popularity and acaplabi l. ity of tlte pro tein-rich at>p
among Fanners in Ghana. You said 8ambara beans or Combo helmS is also known in some African narions. 50
what do you think the crop enjoys aro:p tability among rarmer.; in C hana because they Sl.'t! it not only itS a rood crop, but also a ensh crop. Certain IhInp mlLSt be responsible lor the popuJaIity of 8ambara beans in Ghana Can you give more insisht to this because Nigerian farm ers may also be
Interested in its adoption ?
1.
T seems you are popular among the farmers in Ghima to the extent that they gave you many nicknames. Is t"ere any magic behind yo ur popularity? If you are doing what your people likes. giving them
wha t they wanted or needed at the right time. there is no way you won' t be their delight or favourite. I Wnllt to believe that relationship with practising farmers in Chana. as wei as my dedicnlion., seriousness and c0ntribution to Ihdr welfare and progress of their professiOn probably contributed 10 my popularity. In fact. I've become their ad~ HAJI Sulciman Duliu, the Sale dieted and Adopted friend . dministrator of Wh ll t is Itappening in the agricul rural sec- Shuwa Development Area in Adamawa, has ca lled tor of your country? We're doina (inc and for the introductio n of farmers are. ret:eiving the laws tha t would regulate necessary supports a nd dog Jftdng in residential assistance fro m the gov~ ;ueas of the stale. Duhu who m ade lhe emment in the area of funding nnd a!ricuUu ral call in a n in te rview with the News A,genq of inputs. So I will just say (NAN) in that fam\eB in C haM are Ni8eria progn!S5ing iln:! progress Madagali recently, said isalso beillg exFerienttd in that th e call became the nalion's agricu llura l necessary In view of the high rate of infections sector. Bambara buns seems and tTansfefable diseases rabies to ~ popularamong fann- like . em 1fi Ghana, whMt is SO and th e ind iscrimin ate keeping of infected dop in special about the crop? BarnuMa be<,1lS is more residential homes in Ihe are •. of a s ubsisienco! crop and He said thai alN!ady, jusl like COwpeil or peanut, persons it is a prof\tin ridtcrop. Not four on1y thai, the leguminous had been infected w ith the
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Bitmbar" beans should not bea strnnge oop to film\er.; in Nigeria. 1',,(, done many researches on it and I disco\'t"red that it is in SOn'll" Africnn muntries but lhe needed attention has not been givm to its cultivation unlike groundnu!. cowpea. soybeitn. etc. In fact, it is "tainly grown by farme.rs in Northern p<1rtsorNigcria.l3urkina Faso, Tall7.ania and Mali Some peoplecallcd it Gombo beans simply because it resernble pe.1n ut /rowpea. Can you talk briefly about its economic importancr because for any farmer to accept its plant-
ing/cuJfjvation.. they must 6ft it not only.u a food crop, but .Jso &I a crop with appreciable ~
Administrator calls for law to regulate dog rearing
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disease in the las t two weeks at Mayo-Wandi, Kwirchinga, Tsisil and Lumudi ViOagcs. "'11te rate of infection is high, due to the large numberofinfeded dogs in those areas. "'Most of the owners are not taking good ca re of their dogs which is posing
serious health risk to the
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' ''There should be standin g laws to regulate keeping of dogs in the state. "We are calling on the veterinary department to also Issue medical certifica tes for dogs, to reduce the spread o f the
disease...
Commissioner assures farmers on agric development
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HE n ew Commissioner for Agricu lture a nd Rural Develop.ment In Oyo St.1!e. Mr Abimbola Kolade, h as promised agricultural development in the s ta te.
H e assured practising farmers o f good s up port and assistance from the s tale government. H e also assu red fa rmers and p eople of the thai Oyo State would become one of the food baskets of the country.
Nigerian go vernment
Col"
. 150 d o to make it
popuJu lind ill cullivalion enjoy wide acceptabJlily among Nigerian (umers? I know Nigeria very well and J h:I\'(> friends who art' into scrious agricult ural research. Nigeria has the p0te ntial of leading other African nations,. bul I dOli" know why things are going zig-zag. especiall y in the country's ilgrirulturtll seclor. Some of U5 know what Nigerirm re-seard,ers are doing in other nation!> of the world, but once they get back to the country to replicate thill errort. they alwlI),5 encounter stumbling blocks or obstacles w hid, I believe o ften frustrate them. Wha t I would just say is that if Nigerian government imd those in charge of the country's agricultural development wo uld pay particular iltlention to Bamb.1m beans. invest on Us cultivation and marketing, the crop enn be used as one of the food !leCurily and poverty-fighting crops in Arrica. The crop, like J s ubmitted ea rl ier, has gained acceptability in Ghana and it has been seen as a poverty-rcducillg crop. TIle project is really wo rking in Chana and if it can work in Ghana, I believe it can also work in N igeria.
What methods are Ghanaian b,rmers using to promote Bambara beans cultivation and acceptabJllty? In Chana, we intercrop Bambara beans with crops like millet a nd sorghum because these crops are draught-tolerant crops. The early-matUring varieties of Ihe crop are less sensitive to photo-period . What do I mean by this? When yo u have a long photoperiod, the crop becomes \·egetillive. Bambara beans is low in fat and because of its low lipid content, some people still see il as not commandi ng commercial values unlike other crops like soybeans, g round~ nuls and cowpea. But this wrong notion about Bambara beans should be corrected. II should be noted tha t the crop has a high commercial value tha t is now attracting the attention of stakeholders in the international market. Many private individuals-are now embracing its planting bectluse they have discO\lefM that it is a mone)'~ spinning crop. Canyouenwnera~someoflfsby-produd$?
Bambara beans can be used 10 make food s and consumables like Akar.t (bean cake~.moinmoin and an also be eaten like beans.. In Nigeria. il an be used fur anything you can useIJeamOlSO)'bean to prepare. It has man)' kx:al names in Nigeria. You just show it to anybody, thm they would tell you its kxal/indigerw;w names.