Pest Control: FAO supports NIHORT with biopesticide production equipment

The Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has provided a screenhouse and biopesticide production equipment to National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT). Our correspondents reports that screenhouse and equipment were handed over to NIHORT on Monday in Ibadan by a FAO team led by Mr David Fehintola, Assistant FAO Representative (Administration). NAN also reports that FAO, which was founded on Oct. 16, 1945, is a specialised agency of UN that lead international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition as well as food security. Fahintola said the intervention is part of FAO’s supportive effort to contain and control pests ravaging crops in Nigeria. He explained that the benefit of the screenhouse and biopesticides production machine could not be overemphasised, saying NIHORT has the mandate of educating farmers on how to apply products developed for the purpose.

“FAO has provided the support of giving them the equipment and the screenhouse where they could carry out experiment and develop or train farmers on how to deal with the menace of insects ravaging crops in Nigeria,” he said. Mrs Adeola Akinrinola, FAO Nigeria Programme Officer, said that the screenhouse and equipment handed over to NIHORT was aimed at providing effective means of combating pests ravaging crops in the country. She allayed the fear of possible adverse effect of the biopesticides produced from the project on agricultural products, saying it is not made of chemicals. “They are very effective when it comes to containment and control of Tuta Absoluta. Not just Tuta Absoluta alone, but even other pests ravaging our crops. “With this, we can all be in a better position to serve our farmers better, so that these products are made available for them at a very cheap rate,” she said. Dr Abayomi Olaniyan, the NIHORT Executive Director, thanked FAO for providing the facility especially to contain and control the challenges of pests ravaging crops.

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“Before this time, we had been a great importer of tomato which is telling more on our foreign exchange. “I want to say that we have the ability to produce in this country, but some challenges of pests ravaging our tomato. “But with this input, screenhouse and machines to produce biopesticides, farmers are now able to receive pesticides that are safe unlike synthetic insecticides to give to them. “This can also compete favourably with these synthetic insecticides that are expensive. Government alone cannot do all, but with their support, the challenges concerning Tuta Absoluta has been laid to rest,” he said. Dr Abiola Oke, the Head, NIHORT Vegetable Programme, also explained that apart from the production of biopesticides, the screenhouse was provided to rear some good insects to help in combating wicked ones. “It is not all insects that are bad. There are some insects that are good and that is what we are rearing here. We are rearing that good insect to help us combat that wicked insect that we are talking about,” she said. Oke said that NIHORT has trained farmers in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Jigawa, Oyo, Lagos and Osun States, saying the project is not just starting.

“We are talking about 1,000 farmers that NIHORT had trained concerning this project. So, it is not a project that is just starting. “What we are saying is we want to leverage on what we have done to extend it beyond what we have done,” she said. NAN reports that among the biopesticides already produced from the equipment are Nihort-Ratkin, Nihort-Minty and Nihort-Lyptol. The biopesticides are produced for the control of tomato leafmine, Tuta Absoluta, army worm, spodotera, frugiperda, aphids, biting and sucking insects.