Z6-Vang~FJIIM'lJUNE29~
2012
BUSINESS AGRICULTURE
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IGE RIAN N are g •.!tb!29 cleaner seed yams Out promise farmers
sustainable are intensive irrigated rice cropping systems?
better h.a.m!st!- in the,seasons ahead. thanks to the healthy ~.oed yam produdng tecbnique by the International lnstitute of
ThlpocaJAgOCJI1ure. The health., seed yam producing I.e( hllique involves cutti.n!J tubeJ5 of yam into im ill sizes of be~een 50 and 100 grams, b'ei!.UnJ them willi appropriate peslicides and insectiddes before plantmg. In Ekiu st.tte, a yam produong region in Nigena, fanneis who paruopated ..n 'lie healthy yam project i!l20t 1 now have enougt seed yams to plant Uus r;eason. Mr. Moses Ogumyi, a state cxte"lSl.mist who IS
THE sustainabilily of
partnennlJ WlUlirTA sci-
enlists 0' l,r proJect. said farmers have more than douhletl thell' seed yams "Some film en; plantmg 200seed tams before now baveenough to plant 500 heap,,;," he s!.id. '1\150 the q Jably of Ute seed yans i; very good and farmel s love the teclllloloCfY! he added. Prelem'<i I,y most people ill West Africa. yams lire unportallt sources of carbohydral2f> In the region whidl t(counts for more than 9) uereent of producb.lln But a majilr Limitation to producti"o has been the btgh ['(15 cr seed production. in adrution 10 pests and diseases, whicb lead 10 poorqual ity seed yas i. For man)' farmers, plaotincJ [H the next crnppmg ~llEon usually
Cu tung yam tuber In to smaller pieces to get yam seeds saves yam tuben "nd p rovides more p l an ting ma terials fa farmers
Healthy seed yam technique brings benefits to farmers demands setling aSide up to one-third of harvest Using the improved technology can reduce UlIS proportion. leaving more yams to feed the famtly, while the better quality seed produces more still. Bishop Samuel Oke of the AnglIcan Diocese of Ekiti West said he was happy that his pansluoners participated m the project. citing its empowerment potential especially for those living lD
the rural areas. "llte healthy seed yam productiol\ came at the right llme and It has produced benefits," he said. To improve the livelihoods of members of the church, the Anglican Diocese of Ekiti West has embarked on several agricultu~1 programs mcluding capacity buildmg and lraimng . One of the modules for lrajning planned for this year is the bealthy seed yam technology.
'~few people that participated last year got benefits and we want more 10 benefit bence the need for training and awareness of this technology,M Olre said . Returns from yams have been impressive overthe year:s as dem.a.nd for the oop continues to grow. -Everybody in Ekiti loves yams and they eat the crop mostly in pounded fonn. Again, we have never experieDced glut in yam production which is
why we feel most people should be encouraged to grow it," he explamed. Elsewhere in the stale, fanners are equally reapUlg the benefits of the im' proved techruque. Fanner Ablodun Fatola, a ÂŁatherof3, said he could not believe his harvest "The harvest is so bountiful thai mywtfe and I are lD awe . We now have enougb seed yams to plant next season," Fatola said .
.I. hig hly inte n sive t.rrigated rice crupping sys tems is o f great im p o r t an ce worldwide. particularly in the context of Rio+ 20. With German support, long-term fertility experiments (ITFEs) for intensive rice-based i.aigated systems in the Senegal River valley were established at AfricaRice's research fanus in the SenegaJ Riverde1taand IDJddie valley 10 1991 and these lnals contlnue today. These trials are without doubt uruque m Afnca The LTFEs co ntam su: fertilizer treatments and n ce IS grown twi ce a year As of Decembel 2010, some40 oops bad been grown in succession on both research farms (Senegal Riverdelta and middle valley)_ The malO a110 of this research IS to analyze the effect of Ultenslve ungated nce croppmg on rice yield and tbe soil resource base by studymg the changes of soil characteristics over time and by companng sotl nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium supply in different fertilizer treatments.
FG releases 14,800 metric tones of fertiliser to Sokoto farmers BY A,Q OA.LLAH EL.K,JREBE
NDEJ the Growth
U Enb-~rcemenl
Support ScjlEme, GESS. farmers Ln S)kolo slate are to eno}" fte supply of 14,800 ml'ltr c tones of ASSorted ft r1Lliser from the Fedt'TaJ g'lVemmenl This wt s dtsclosed dunng the launch of the state fertiliS.!rdistribution CXerctSf> bl t..le Mlruster of State fOi Agncullure, AlhaJi Bu . ar TiJjam lit Bodlng.l, IlOdlnga local gove 'lment headquart"I"'; of the state on Mond~I Under L'le GESS scheme. a{cmtHng to the Mlnlsterl peasant farmers would be reached via GSM by the IIccredlte!1 ~edemption centres nd the two variety of th( conunodJty
(NPKand Urea) would be sold to the interesting farmers at N2,500 each as against the original price of N5000. Tijjaru dJsdosed thaI lhe scheme was auned at fighting corruption in the distribution of ferW.tsers and to boost farming acbvities in thecounby. He observed that WIth the commencement of raining season, the tlm1ng of the dlStnbubon by the state government was correct consldenng the fact that Sokato state was a major agrarian in the country. According to him, 65 redemption centres were established in the state where farmers could p resent their alerts on GSM or identification for paper voucher to pay for the commodity. Speaking during the
launch of the distribution 01 the state governmen t owned 6,500 tones of the assorted commodity, Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko advised federa l goverrunent to pursue the scheme With utmost care due to the nature of the people at the grass root. "We must do all we can to support actual farmers to enhance food secunty. The poltcy IS lovely and well artlculated. It has showed tfie concern and COmmJtmentofthe federal government towards revampmg agriculture but for the nature of our people at the grass root it should be pursuit with care," the Governorsaid. Wamakko further advised that the people should be made to understand a nd appreciate lbe useol CSM
facilities lor the purposes of fertiliser purpose. The state government declared that NPK would be sold at Nt.700 while Urea wouldcosl Nt ,BOO, meaning that farmers would enjoy 75 perrent discount for each of the
oommodJty. New food security and nutrition project for Egypt A new S3 million project that aims to improve food security and nutrition of women and young people 10 Egypt was announced today by FAO.
The project IS betng financed by the government of Italy. Unemployment rates for young people and women in Egypl are estimated at around 25percent, much higher than the national average of 10 percent.
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