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Dizengoff Nigeria has charged farmers across the country on the need to take the issue of pest control seriously during planting field preparations.
Stephen Adeniran, manager-agrochemical, Dizengoff gave this charge to farmers in a recent chat on the progress made in the country’s agricultural sector to attain food security.
“Going by the experiences of the recent past in the sector, it will be suicidal for any farmer to overlook or take the issue of pest control with levity not only during cultivation and after, but very importantly during the process of preparing the field for planting. It starts from there, and this also goes for other agric forms,” Adeniran said.
“Pests are a great threat especially to any crop producing enterprise and it’s a serious issue. Because, they have capability to reduce and in some instances cause total crop failure, as we have witnessed in parts of this country in recent past where entire farming communities were devastated by the invasion of pests.
“So pest control is an important integral part of crop production which must start with preparing the field for cultivation, and it is a key part of the mix during and after planting. I will advise that farmers see it as such in order to achieve overall success during harvest no matter the farm type or scale of operation. Start with pest control,” he further said.
Adeniran while addressing the issue of efficacy and safety of chemicals in dealing with the menace of pests however emphasized the importance of choosing the right type of agrochemicals, adhering by the label instruction on usage and using personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Take maize crop farming for instance where farmers were caught off guard and experienced huge losses about two years ago due to the devastation of their farmlands by pests. The resulting bad harvest of that year was felt for a long time. So we say take enough precautions by using appropriate agrochemicals beginning with the land preparation stage to control the breeding of harmful insects before you cultivate your land.
“There might be eggs of harmful insects hibernating in the soil and you need to get rid of them before planting. But of course care must be taken to get appropriate chemicals that will not harm or alter the nature nor contaminate the crop in the long run.” In the case of maize for instance, he singled out ‘Pyrinex 48EC’ which he said could be safely used for land preparation before cultivation.
According to him, Pyrinex 48EC from Dizengoff Nigeria could be used to ensure balance between efficacy and safety. “It is one such broad spectrum insecticide that has proven very effective for land preparation because of its dual qualities that is useful as an ovicide as well as a larvaecide.”
He emphasized that the country has huge potentials to become a major agricultural producer within a short period time, calling for constant farmers’ education so keep them aware of new developments and breakthroughs in the sector in terms of techniques, chemicals and tools as well as processes that could accelerate production.
“The farmer needs to be well informed about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the entire value chain of the agric production process. In terms of agrochemicals for instance, what chemicals are suitable for particular crops, how to apply them and then of course the issue of quality and efficacy.”
Dizengoff he maintained has been doing quite a lot in efforts to address these issues particularly in its product offerings, interactions with farmers and support on the field.
Also speaking, Antti Ritvonen, CEO, Dizengoff called on farmers to partner with Dizengoff for the “success of their investment in agriculture and the achievement of a food secure Nigeria.”
Josephine Okojie
