Pests/Disease Control: Federal Government trains 120 cassava farmers

The Federal Government has commenced training for 120 cassava farmers from Ondo, Edo and Ekiti States, South-West Nigeria, on improved management and control strategies of pests and diseases, particularly whiteflies.

According to the government, whiteflies infect cassava plants with cassava mosaic disease, leading to a consistent decline in output in some cassava-producing States in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the workshop held at the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, said the government was doing everything possible to eradicate the whiteflies, hence the need for capacity-building.

Represented by the Ondo State Coordinator of the ministry, Mr Tony Otunoye, the minister noted that the participants were selected from the States following letters of complaints received from the affected States.

Abubakar said the training was to sensitize farmers and other stakeholders along the cassava value chain from the three States on the basic concept of agricultural best practices on whiteflies and disease control in cassava production.

“Whitefly is an old scourge but cassava farmers are now overlooking it, but the disease is coming much stronger.

“The cassava varieties that we released then are losing vigour, so the Ondo State programme manager of Agriculture Development Programme and his team alerted the Federal Government, and we had to swing into action,” he said.

Source: Agro Nigeria