By Muftau Ogunyemi
The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), has called on farmers to consult appropriate experts on pesticides usage on their produce to avoid rejection in foreign countries.
Mr Tony Otuonye, FMARD State Coordinator made the call at a one-day technical review/ in- house step-down training for technical staff of the ministry on Tuesday in Akure.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 30 technical staff of the ministry were trained.
Otuonye explained that the improper usage of pesticides had caused a lot of damages on the country’s produce exportation, saying soil tests should be conducted before the application of any chemical.
According to him, Nigerians are know for abuse of everything such as drug abuse, sex abuse, child abuse, even pesticides abuse and the one we are fighting now is pesticides abuse.
“Yes, it is good to use pesticides, which mostly are not produced here. Traditional pesticides has been discarded by our farmers and they are only buying the chemical pesticides.
“We want to implore our farmers, they shouldn’t use the pesticides anyhow, they must use it appropriately.
“Our produce has been rejected from our exporters abroad due to traces of contamination by pesticides. And this is affecting our country economically, in revenue generation and income generation.
“So, it has become imperative for farmers to consult experts before spraying or applying any pesticides on their farms.
“And they should be well informed about the proper use of any pesticides because it is very dangerous, harmful and very injurious,” he said.
While speaking on the training, Otuonye explained that it would enable staff whose professional qualification was directly related to agricultural system to train farmers.
In her welcome address, Mrs Olayinka Ajana, FMARD Deputy Director (Scientific) in Ondo State charged farmers and other stakeholders to ensure that poverty eradication and zero-hunger was fought for in all ramifications in the country.
“There must be a development, advancement and technical improvement in agricultural system.
“And for this to be achieved, there must be value addition in our agricultural system and for value addition to be achieved, there must be training for relevant stakeholders,” she said. (NAN)
Consult appropriate experts on pesticide usage – FG tell farmers
