Expert advises farmers to minimise wastage during planting, harvest
NAN-AE-9
Minimise
By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
Ibadan, Jan.18, 2017 (NAN) A Subject Matter Specialist on Crops, Mr Olubode Folorunso, on Wednesday, advised farmers to learn how to minimise wastage in the course of their agricultural activities.
Folorunso gave the advice while delivering a lecture in Ibadan on waste management at the Farmers Field School Day organised by the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP).
He said farmers wasted commodities, labour, time, feeds, agro-chemicals among others in the course of planting and harvesting of crops.
The crop specialist advised farmers to always embark on early land clearing and know the sizes of their farms to ascertain the resources required to obtain maximum profit.
“Avoid harvesting fruits/crops such as mangoes, bananas, tomatoes, plantain, when they are over-ripe, learn to harvest them with minimal damages.
“Get to know what is selling in the market first before producing, don’t start production first to avoid running into losses.
“Don’t jam-pack your commodities in the course of transporting them to avoid waste.
‘’For mangoes, harvest when they are green, don’t let them touch each other and don’t pack in cartons.
“Plant correct seeds in batches not more than what the market can take for a time, plant in time also,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Folorunso is an official of Oyo State ADP.
He explained that the programme was organised free of charge fortnightly, for farmers who don’t have enough extension workers in the five Local Government Areas of Ibadan.
He added that the programme was open to all the farmers in all fields of agriculture in the five councils.
“They gather every two weeks, we lecture them, attend to their questions and it has been helping them,” he said.
Also, a Subject Matter Specialist on Fisheries, Mrs Florence Makinde, advised farmers to always know the legal backing of the land to use for pond and the nature of the soil.
“The best for pond is clay/loam soil; the land for pond should be a bit sloppy to easily allow discharge of water.
“The vegetation of the land to use for fish farm should be considered too,” Makinde said. (NAN)
CC/MOL/AFA
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Felix Ajide