Poge 34, THIS DAY, Vol. 17, No. 6119
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
~usiriessWORLa agnc Healthy- Seed Yam Technique Brings Benefits to Fanners igerian fr.tmCB are gct·
N
ting deaner seed yams that promise belief har-
By Crusoe Osagie
vests in the seasons
exl<:nsioniSl who is partnering
!hanks to th~ healthy seed yam producing :cchrUquc by the Intan.1tional Instirute
" with [ITA scientists on the . project, said fanners ha\'c trIOR than doubled their seed
wad.
of Tropical AgrictJllure (lITA). The healthy seed yam projoeing IeChnique im oh "es cut· tina wbn-s of yam intO small sizes of bel\\'a:n 5(. and 100 yammes. (fellting them with 'pproprialc pesticIdes and
ulsecucides bdore r ianting. In aili $lUll:. a yam pro:;Iucin. ferion in Nigeria, fanners who partidpated in !he he:J.lthy yam project in 20 11 now IUI\'e c",)Ugh seed jantS to plant mil' kason.
Mr. Moses OgunlyL a 5UIII:
yams. "Some farmers planting 200 seed yams berore now have enough \0 plant SOO heaps;' he said. ~Also the qua1iry of the seN " yams is vel)' good and flUlTlf:fS love the technology," he ,dd<d. Prc:fened by most people in West Africa, yams an:: imporlanl sources of carbohydClIle:5 in !he region whicll accounts for fTIOIl: Ihnn 90 per cenl of production, BUI a major limitation to production has bcc:n Ihc high COS! of seed produc-
tion . in addition to pestS and diseases, wrucb lead 10 poor qwality seed yam. For many rarmm, plWlting for the next cropping season usually demands setting aside up 10 one-third or ~1. Usini the imprtl\'cd 1CChno1~ gy can ~uce this proportion, leaving more yanlS 10 the family, while the better quality seed produces ~ .still , Bishop SamllC'l Oke of Ihc Anglican Diocese of Ekiti West said he was happy Ihat his parish.ioners panicipaled in the project, ciling irs empowermenl p:ttential especial ly for those living in the
benefilS," he said. To improve the livelihoods of members of the church, the Anglican Diocese of Ekiti West has embarl<ed on several agriculrural programs including capilCity building and training. One of the mIXIulcs for training planned for this year is the heallhy seed yam
rurnl areas. "TIle healthy soor.I yam production canlC' II the right time and it has produced
as demand fotthe cropcontin-
reed
lechnology.
"A few people thaI panicipaled last year got benefits and we want more 10 benefi[
hence the need for training and a..... arene.ss of this technology,-Qke said. Returns from yams have bcc:n impressive over the yean ues 10 grow, "Everybody in Ekiti lo\u yams and the)' eat
the crop mostly in pouoded form , Again, we ha\'e DI:YC'f e:a:perienced glut in yam pr0-
duction which is why we feel most people should be encouraled 10 grow it," he eJ.plained. Elsewhere in the stale, farmers are equally reaping the benefits of the improved teclinique, Farmer Abiodun Falaki, I rather of ~, said he could not beli~'e his har-
......
1be hllf\l'l::St is so bountiful that my wife and 1 are in awe. We now have enough seed yarns 10 plant next season," Falaki said. The heallhy seed yam pr0duction project is supported by the United Kingdom's
Departmenl ror Inlemationai (}c\'dopment (orIO) under the Research inlo Use (RIll) progmmm<.
UTA wOfb in coJlabonltion wilh t.lissionary Sisters o f the Holy ROW)' and Diocesan Development Servla:s (DDS) IU1d is curmllly being imple· mented in Abuja. Ri\'eI"!\. Kogi and Ekiti Slates in Nigeria. IITA NClmtologislS, Dni, Danny Coyne, and Biodun Oaudills Cole. said the tc:ch· no logy was addressing the constrainlS faced by fanners. They eJ.pressed optimism Ihat the adoption of the tcchnology would be widespread IICl'O$5 Nigeria and wou ld vasl ly impnn'e the [onunes of yam fanners ,
Europe, FAO Promote Climate-smart Farming
F
ood ar.d Ii gricul ture Organisauon \-,AO) and Ihc EuroJ:can Cummis.sion (EQ h.a~ wulOUnced tI new £.53 million project aimed :11 helping Malawi. VJefMnI:ud Zanlbi IlrnnSition 10 a ·climate-smart ' approach to agricultu~ , AgricullOO! • o:nol the c0mmunities ....-ho depend on il for lheir livelihoods and food security - m highl)' \"UInernbJe 10 climolle dHlnge imlJolClS, At
the same:
tim~ ~gric.ullll1e, as
a
significant producc- of green-
house g~. con.ribules 10 global. wllrnung. ·aimate-~man
is an
agricultw-e"
1I?IJrOIlCh Ih It
seeks to poWon the agriculruml sector IS • solution 10 LIeSe' major challenges. It ifl\'OJvC':'I m.wng changes in fanning systwlli [hal achieve multiple goals:
~ing Itv:itCOlrtribution 10 the fight agalllSl ' JUnger anj poo."m)'; rmdering them ~ resilien t 10 climtte change:
reducing
emiss 'ons;
and
increasing apicultJre's polC'OtiaI to caplw-e ani sequesrer DlmO:Spheric: cartJoJl. "We need 10 Hart putting cfutwc..smart Igrkulrurc into practic:c. WOtking dosely wilh (~ ami ttri communities: said FAC Assislllnt DirKtor-Geneml for the Economic allli Social Development l>t-panment , Ha/'cz Ghanem. "llut then: IR: no one-sizc.fil!-aU solutions - better- climaIe-smar1 fanning jr.Jt1ices need 10 ~ 10 diffemu local conditions, [0
geography. 1I.' C'ilrha lind the natural re.soura: be
base"
""'"'.
-nus project ""'ill look close-
ly at ~ rounttics and identi· fy chalIenles and oppcnunitics
for dimtllc·sman
agricul~
and produce sttalegK: plans !ai.
lend
\0
each [(II.Intry's own
~ity: Ghanem said. · While oor. all soluOOns identified will be univenally applicable, \.\'C' can learn a loe about bow coun· tries could take similar steps and begin shifting 10 this approech 10 agriculture: The EU is providing £33 million to suppm the effort FAO's contribution is €2 million. Workinl closely wilh agriculture and other ministries in ea:h of the partner cowuries, and collaborating with local and international ~, the three.year project will: identify country-specific opponunities ror expansion of
""""&'~ or impIanentation of new ones, and Study the CXI!I5tr1I.ints thal need 10 be overt:ornc 10 ~ mote wider adoption of cli· rnare-sman agriculture. including irM:stmenl costs. It would also promoIc integralion of IIlItionai climate chanse and IgricullW1ll strate· gies 10 ~ the implementation o f climate·smm agricul-
ture: identify
innowl.i~
mochanisms for linking climate finance wilh climate-smart agricuhure inveslmenU: and billd apacity for plannjng and implementing dimale-sman projects capable of auractwg international im'eSttrll::flts,
llTA Mentors Prisoners on Massive Yam Harvest
P
rison inmates participating in I yam improvemenl project. led by the
Inlenwional 1rutirule of Tropical Agriculture (llTA) Ind Diocesan Development Ser.'ices (O~S) are gaining slUlls on how 10 better culti\'lle the rube!- cop. and an:: being eIl1(lO\.\--ered \0 face life's dJaIlenges after serving their jail ~.
.
Conducted IS a piJot study wilh the Prison Farm Centre in
Elele.
Pon Harcoun. under the United Kingdom 's J)epartrM:nt fot Intemationa.l DeveJopment - (DflD) ·su~ paned ' Healthy seed yam pro-ject', the project aims at aeaJ.. illJ grea1C'r avaHabiliry o f heal thy planting malerial, while apandi ng fanners' knowledge on . improved proneat
Oxfam, Footballers Lead Fight against Hunger the 2012 Aliican Cup or , Nations begins,llXR than 2S footballers iDcluding
t\fE
Kcill £run M.a.1i, :::twk:s ~ rrom Burkina Faso, Oemba BI!itJm Sbqal .and Lawali IdriSSl from Niger l'lllve spoken out in solidarity .... im rnillioos of pcople facing !Unger across their rq;ion , Ibey are appealing \0 the inter-
tWiona.l commwlity 10 worlt t.ogether- so that •'We can win
..Mali """""'" hun""". and Baro:lona fOOlball ..tar Scydou Kei .. added: " If '"",-e act now we could save the ku of \Vomen and chikln:n ",ho~ always It e 6rst \ictilTlS ')( food crises, If ' A'C' act wxenl· y. milliolls of dl ildm\ will be
.a\"td from malnuuition and \'ill ha\'e the ,;hance 10 grow
communiry 10 show equal dc:rmninatioo 10 help procea
response \0 the coming crisis, ;Tl!e rqim tw seen poor ~ns in 20 II. causing I 25 per cc:nt drop in hariesu compamt with lO10,and pushing up food prices - almosl doubling in some of the hardest hil areas. In some countriel such 15 Mluritania, Chad and Niger. populations an:: aJready been on
milliOf\l cwrernIy threatened by a kJominl food crisis across the Sahel regioa, including over one million children threatened with severe malnutrition, Foolballers from these national tcams have ~ \'ideos and had photographs taken wilh international NGO Oxfam and its lIetwork of pan(ICf" organisations that will be aired throughoul the tourna· ment ailing for tin early
the move months earlier than apccted, and pasun1ists an: lookinl for new pasture for their li\-esmd::. It last saw • crisis in 20 10. which Iffc:ctcd JO million pe0ple. The appe:ils of the fool.' ballers come on [he back of swements by political Ieadc:rs and go'o'mlIlClb in ~ rqjon - including the: ones rrom Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso. tI-'lauritania and Mali who ha\'e
healthily and 10 succeed at
school:' National teanu from BIIrkina Faso. Mali, NiJC'l' and Senegal. all ddmnined 10 lift !he cup for !heir supp0rter'5 bal:k home, ~'ecaUed on governmenrs and the intemational
promised 10 devl=lop nalional emergency pllUls and have uked for intematiooal wi!-
-.
Popu.1ations COI,Ild still be protected. said Odam spokesperson Eric Huard " While the situation in !he Sahel is serious,the worst is 001 yet ineviQbIe if we act swifUy, We know aboul this coming aisis mooths earlier than we have in the past, meaning we can act now to save more lives anj ~ teet the Jivelihoods of many more people, '1bls is why we an:: delighted thal footballC'fll across West AJiica have spoken ou[ in soli· dariry with their fellCM' citiuns 1Oca1l for early action towin the matc h IgainSI hungC'f," he "<b!.
duction methods, The ehoice of the prison is pan of effons to help rrlonn
prisoners so Ihat they beconE more useful \0 the society, say Dni, Danny Coyne and Abiodun Oaudius-Cole. UTA scientists, To get healthy .seed yam, researchers trained prison inmalC'S on how 10 Ireat yam seilS o f approximately 80 gnuns wilh IttOmmended fungicidesflIlSC'Cticides before planting. The yam seltS were dipped in the Fung,icidclinseclidde solution and allowed 10 dry before: planting. On the prison farm , the technology rt:COl'rled more than 20 per cenl yield iom:ase OYCI" the )iekI. from using the ccmentionaI syslcm,
Seed Yam Project 0fIieer, Nsude Anthony, says the innovation is 'wondC'Iful.' ~I am eu:ited by the OUtcome. AI the beginrWlg, I never believed that such small yam setts could pr0duce big-sized yam. This is great." he says.
Trials of the same tedtoo~ BY on • nC'llby drought.hil farm recorded about 400 per cent more seed yam using the impro\'ed method as opposed 10 un!reattd farms. An:hlbong ibup, Assistanl
ControUc:r of Prisons at E1e1e Prison farm , described the results as 'impressive,' and
urged farmers 10 step up Ihc production of seed yam as its l\'I.ilabiliry is Limited and often of poor quality, According 10 him. the Prison farm will adopt the methods introduced by IfTA 10 increase seed production. adding that the project pr0vided inmates with useful knowledge and .s.kills that they can use when they return 10 their commr.milies. He SIIcssed lhat these sldlls woukl continue to be useful 10 inmalC'S in their life
......
Researchers say Ihat the success of the projeet at the Prison Farm Cenlre in E1e1e will pII~ the way for similar projed.s across !be country along Ihc yam-growing bell. Consumed by millions of pe0ple worldwkle. yam pn:!dLJction is stymied by the unavailability healthy seedlings CI1I5ICd by pests and diseases.
or
UTA and the Diocesan Developmen[ Scrviccs - the panner organisations implcmc:ntina the project, two
inlcTld 10 give participating
inmates heallhy seed yam 10 start yam production when they finally 1ea\'C' prison, It is boped that the inmateS will re-enter sociery armed wilh better knowledge and skills thai would help them SWt
a new life,