Advocates Mal<e Case For Organic Agric By Olukayode Oyeleye XPERTS from Nigeria and abroad have said the time has come for Nigeria to get involved in commercial scale organic farming. This was made known in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday by local and foreign partners in the orgamc farming programmes being introduced to Nigeria. . The awareness campaign involved the joint effort of the Olusegun Obasanjo Centre for Organic Research (OOCORD),Agro-Eco Louis Bolk Institute and the N~'erian Organic Agriculture Network (NOAN . Although it was agree that organic farming produce do not necessarily supplant those of conventional farming. it was said that organic produce are healthier and attract premium prices which guarantee the farmers higher mcomes. The discussants attempted to convince the audience of the benefits and would wish Nigerian farmers look in the way of organic farming for all the good things they are to expect from it. "The country's relatively late entry into organics gives it the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other Afncan countries' where such a sector is already established," said Bo van Elzakker, director of tropical agriculture department in the Netherland-
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ventional versus organic farming, adding the development of organic agricul ture in that he would want the promotion of or- the country a much needed boost to be able ganic farming to come from demand side to address this challenge in a coordinated way," Elzakker noted. rather than supply side. Professor Jonathan Babatola, plant patholHe said organic products' consumers are more aware of their health benefits than of ogist and executive director of OOCORD, told the other consumers. "They consume pasta, the audience of journalists that organic tomato sauces and cereals," he said. To farming being talked about does not allow counter the perceived negative effects of the use of inorganic fertiliser or pesticides products of conventional agriculture, found and does not include Genetically Modified m many fast food outlets, he disclosed that Organisms (GMOs). He was of the opinion tha t organic farming there is a movement in Europe referred to as 'Slow Food' movement, emphasising food is environmentally friendly ana that organic fertilisers and pesticides could be generated items regarded as natural and organic. OOCORD's mission, it was gathered, was "to and used. Animal dung, he added, can be develop research and knowledge exchange used as organic manure and some plant exon sustainable organic agriculture systems tracts such as neem could be used as organic to address the dual need of food security pesticides. In biofuel, "you can use animal and incomes in Nigeria. it is collaborating faeces to produce clean energy for the home with the Nigerian Institute of Horticultural and clean food to eat." He pointed out that, Research (NIHORT) based in Ibadan, the in Brazil, there are plantations of pepper Louis Bolk Institute in the Netherlands, the protected from insect pests by the neem Coventry University and the African Leader- trees planted in between. ship and Development Centre in the United , "The global organic practice and market have taken root in Africa, such as Ethiopia Kingdom." "Scattered research in organics has been tak- with coffee and cocoa, Kenya with fruits and vegetables, Ghana with vegetables and ing place in several of Nigeria's universities and agricultural institutions, but a dedi- fruits, Cameroon with coffee, plantains and cated national organic institution is to give medicinal plants, Uganda with fruits and vegetables and Tanzania with a variety of organic products," the former NIHORT director explained. He indicated that a lot of revenue could be generated through spices used for cooking soups. A kilogramme of a particular spice in common use is about $300 in the world mar, ket, he said and that is more profitable than a barrel of crude oil that requires about $10 to refine. Although he agreed that certification will entail costs which have to be borne by the farmers, he said government would share part of the cost, and farmers would bear the rest. Elzakker, however, gave some justification for farmers' ability to pay the certifica· tion expenses, saying that savings from agrochemicals and fertilisers could be used in paying for certification. He also said farmers would be organised into groups to make this payment possible. Notwithstanding the call,S for organic farm· ing, Babatola inaicated that conventional breeding techniques will still continue and varieties from such techniques will still be planted. "We are not saying that conventional agriculture is not useful," he tried to clarity, adding that it is also up to those who want to consume GMOs to decide. The Nigerian Organic Agriculture Network (NOAN), according to Babatola, is a joint project between OOCORD, office of the special assistant to the president on food security, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON). This, he said, was aimed at staff training, field officer training, management assistance to both farmers and Willem-Albert Toose listen during the formal briefing on the Olusegun Obasanjo Centre for Organic groomed exporters among other functions. PHOTO: OLUKAYODE OYELEYE
based Louis Bolk Institute. "Nigeria's wealth, land mass, variety of vegetation zones and larl,le population of 150 million," he observed, makes potentially possible" the "production economies of scale that few other countries could match_ It also means, apart from competing for the export market, it has a large potential local market that waits to be developed." Elzakker referred to the International Trade Centre (ITC) records in which the organic market size in 2010 was estimated at $46 billion in the EU, $45 billion in the us and $11 billion in Japan. He expressed the need for market promotion, asking that "if organic products are sold in South Africa and Kenya, why not in Nigeria? In trying to persuade Nigerians to accept organic farming, WilIem-AlbertToose, Agro'Eco Louis Bolk Institute's regional manager for West Africa said he has been in Ghana Tor five years setting up projects there and in Sierra Leone. He reasoned that such technologies can be used to set things up in Nigeria. Elzakker noted that the cost of certification is not a barrier for farmers to enter the organic food market. He said he did not want to be dragged into the controversy of con-
Professor Jonathan Babatola (middle)explaining a point while 80 van Elzakker (left) Research (OOeORD) ••t Prote. Hotel.lkej.... on Friday
Better Soybean Varieties Offer Farmers New Options By Olukayode Oyeleye .' REE improved soybean varieties that can enhance the productivity of the crop and offer farmers better opportunities have been released in Nigeria and Malawi. According to a release at the week-
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end, the varieties were code-named
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TGxI740-2F, TGx1987-IOF, and TGx1987-62F. TGx1740-2F was developed by the Internationallnstitute of Tropical Agriculture (IlTA) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Research Services (OARS) in Malawi. Varieties TGx1987-IOF and TGx198762F were developed by IlTA in collaboration with Nigerian Cereal Research Institute (NCRl). The on-station and on-farm testing of TGx1740-2E, TGx1987-IOF, and TGx1987-62F was funded by the, Tropical Legumes II project. The Malawi Agricultural Technology Clear· ing Committee (ATCC) on Tuesday officially approved the release ofTGx1740-2F while Nigeria Varietal Release Committee released TGx1987-IOF and TGx1987-62F on December 2, last year. According to Hailu Tefera, IITA soybean breeder based in Malawi, the varieties outperformed the standard and local checks grown in the two countries, offering high grain yield in multiple. locations under onstation and on-farm trials. "In Nigeria, medium-maturing varieties TGx1987-IOF and TGx1987-62F proved highly resistant to rust, bacterial blight, and Cercaspora leaf spot," said Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, IITA's pathologist. The varieties were considered preferable by many farmers because they smother weeds
and reduce the cost of weeding. Farmers that participated in the on-farm trials of the varieties last year said they preferred them especially for their golden color at maturity. In Malawi, TGx1740-2F gave the highest mean grain yield of 2464 kg/ha. "It exceeded the grain variety Nasoko and the widely grown promiscuous variety Magoye which were used as checks by 10 percent and 32 per cent during the two-year multilocation on-station trials," according to IITA data. The variety performed equally well during on-farm participatory variety selection trials in four districts of central Malawi. In the 2009/10 season, it out-yielded all the new types of soybean varieties under testing by giving 2248 kg per hectare. It also sur· passed Nasoko and Magoye by IS per cent and 38 per cent, respectively. Farmers had many reasons for choosing this variety. "It matures early, has more pods per plant up to the top of the plant, performs well under poor and erratic rainfall, and has better lodging resistance," said Tefera. "It is a big milestone for IITA as this is the first time that an IlTA-developed promiscuous soybean variety - one that is able to nodulate effectively with diverse indigenous Rhizobia in the soll- is released in Malawi," he added. . High in nutritive value, soybean is fast gaining appeal in Africa, the release informed, "as it offers a cheap source of protein. The crop is also emerging as an important feed, food, as well as raw mate-
rial for producing high-quality protein products. For smallholder farmers it is an important cash crop and also improves soil fertility because of its ability to fix high amounts of atmospheric nitrogen."
It concluded by showing that the development of these varieties serves as a boost to African nations as, together with partners; they strive to reduce hunger and poverty.
Tofu sausage and steak, made of soybeans, on display at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (lAR&T). Moor
Plantation, Ibadan. Soy can be used for many other fast foods
PHOTO: OlUKAYOOE