6, 000 farmers achieve high yield in soybean, cowpea production — IITA

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have assisted 6,000 farmers in the country to achieve high yield in soybean and cow-pea production.

Dr Nkeki Kamai, the Coordinator, N2 Africa Project, made this known at the Annual National Partners Review and Planning Workshop, which the institute co-hosted with the foundation.
He said that through the assistance, the farmers recorded remarkable feats in soybean and cowpea production, adding that the two crops had been neglected in the past.

He said that the development would improve farmers’ income, livelihood and the quest to diversify the country’s economy through agriculture.

He said that the feat was recorded under a new project known as N2Africa, which entailed nitrogen fixation in the soil to boost the productivity of smallholder farmers growing legumes across Africa.

Kamai said that the five-year project, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was currently in its third year, adding that it had increased farmers’ productivity, improved household nutrition and boosted incomes.

“So far, a lot has been achieved through this project. We are into leguminous crops such as cowpea, beans, soybean and groundnut because these crops are important for household usage.

“Ironically, these crops have been neglected in the country despite their huge importance. Our target is to close the yield gap that farmers were getting before the coming of the project.

“From the results we have gathered so far, there are lots of improvements in terms of outputs.

“Before now, farmers usually get one tonne per hectare but today, because of the best agronomy introduced to them (farmers), they get 2.5 to three tonnes per hectare.

“Through the new project, we introduced a new technology called inoculants to prevent diseases in the crops,’’ he added.

Kamai said that research was underway to get inoculants for other crops because of their importance, adding that the process was relatively cheap as it involved the process of fixing nitrogen in the soil.

“IITA is the implementing partner of the project in Nigeria. We will make sure we cover much more farmers; more than what we have proposed,” he said.
Kamai said that there were pests that fixed bacteria naturally to crops via the root, while inoculants reinforced the strength of the crops.
“What farmers need at this stage is inoculants; that is why this technology is important,” he said.

The coordinator said that the technology was environment-friendly because it was natural, adding that it would also save farmers from the burden of looking for fertiliser, which was expensive and not forthcoming.

Kamai, nonetheless, encouraged farmers to key into using the technology because of its efficacy and ability to facilitate the country’s efforts to achieve food security.

Also speaking, Mr Alpha Kamara, System Agronomist, IITA, said that sulfurous agents and inoculants needed to be applied on soybean and cowpea in order to boost their productivity.
“Cowpea is affected by several pests and if inoculants are not used, farmers will end up harvesting nothing,’’ he added.

Kamara said that the workshop was organised to encourage farmers to adopt and use the technology.

The workshop was organised to review the success of N2Africa project in the country through the use of inoculants on legumes.

Inoculants were used in Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Benue, Borno states and the FCT, with a particular focus on cowpea, groundnut and soybean cultivation.