Enugu lawmaker trains 800 farmers on how to produce organic fertilizers, pesticides

By Agency Report

No fewer than 800 farmers in Igboeze-South State Constituency have been trained on how to produce different organic fertilizers and pesticides they will use in their farms.

In a remark on Thursday in Nsukka during the one day training at St Mary's Catholic Church Ibagwa-Aks Igboeze-South Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Mr Harrison Ogara, the Lawmaker representing Igboeze-South Constituency in Enugu State House of Assembly said that, he decided to organise the training so that farmers would benefit and have bumper harvest in their farms at lower cost.

Ogara said that, he invited experts from Southfield Agro Network International and Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP) to train farmers on how to produce organic fertilizers and pesticides as well as know how to test their soil farm.

He said that, the training was in line with the Enugu State Government's effort to boost agriculture in the state.

"I want farmers to be empowered rather than giving them stipends which may be spend on frivolities that may not add value to their lives.

"It has been my dream to empower and pull people out of poverty,  I believed to solve the problem of poverty, the best way is to embrace agriculture.

"The country is finding it difficult to achieve food security because we abandoned agriculture, many youths now room about the street in search of non-existent white-collar job.

"Study has shown that, there's nexus between unemployment and criminality, hence an ' idle man is a devil's workshop' and ' a hungry man is an angry man', he said.

According to the lawmaker, arrangement was ongoing to attract funds for farmers from World Bank but noted that only those who were serious would benefit from the fund.

Ogara said that, he had coordinators in all the wards of the constituency who would assist him to know serious farmers.

"The next training for farmers in the area will be on fish, pig, and snail farming in which experts from the University of Nigeria Nsukka will come and train participants.

Speaking, Mr. Ifeanyi Ibekwe, a resource person from the Southfield Agro Enugu, that produced organic fertilizers and pesticides in commercial quantity who trained the farmers on how to produce the items with materials within their environments.

He explained that the  fertilizer was very easy and cheap to produce but would help crops in the farm to grow very well for bumper harvest.

Ibekwe listed some of the materials that could be sourced locally for the production of the organic fertilizer to include rice husk ash, plantain peel powder, cow dung, chicken manure, potash, etc, and explained to the farmers how to mix them to get the organic fertilizers.

"With this you have no business spending money buying fertilizers and pesticides again  in the market  as what you produced are the same thing you buy from the markets ," he said.

Another resource person Mr Alex Okeke, also from Southfield Agro who taught the farmers on how to produce organic pesticides in different ways said pesticides were used to prevent pests from attacking and destroying crops.

"For instance, orange peels boiled with a cup of water for 10 minutes and allowed to cool has become pesticide to get rid of pests like slugs, aphids, ants, whiteflies, fruit flies among others.

"This is one of the ways the farm pesticides you buy from  markets are produced," Okeke said.

Also  Mr. Benjamin Onunze, former Director Technical Services, ENADEP who represented the Programme Manager, Dr. Ogbonna Onyishi, taught the farmers on how to use Soil Testing Kits to test the soil so as to know the type of crops to plant in their farms.

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"From the soil testing, you will know the type of soil nutrients available and the ones that are lacking in a farmland.

"For instance, if you have a farmland that is reach in nitrogen, you look for a crop that needs nitrogen to grow  very well.

"Not testing the soil before planting is one of the reasons farmers records poor harvest because they did not know the nutrient present and the ones lacking " he said.

Some of the participants interviewed by our reporter expressed gratitude to Ogara for organising the training workshop which they said had made it possible to know how to produce organic fertilizers pesticides as well as to soil of their farms.

They farmers said now they have known how to produce  fertilizers and pesticides by themselves, it would save them some of amount money they have been using to buy fertilizers and pesticides in the market. (NAN)