FUNAAB empowers 200 farmers in Ogun with high-yielding cassava varieties

Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) has trained over 200 farmers from Odeda and Abeokuta North Local Government areas of Ogun State ahead of farming season with a view to equipping them with modern agricultural techniques and expertise required for massive production, distributing 600 bundles of improved cassava stems to them.

The Annual Integrated Pre-Season Training Workshop tagged: “Climate Change: A Threat to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Nigeria,” was organised by Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC) of the university in conjunction with the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (CAVA II) Project to improve farmers’ capacity on cassava production.

Speaking at the workshop, which had in attendance over 200 farmers drawn from two local government areas – Ijale-Orile, Daodu, Akintobi, Asebisetan, Odeda, Ilewo Orile and Olorunda, Olusola Oyewole, vice-chancellor, FUNAAB, said the training was meant to further broaden and strengthen the relationship between FUNAAB and stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Ogun State and beyond.

The vice-chancellor, who was represented by Felix Salako, deputy vice-chancellor, said the workshop was in line with the university’s vision towards attaining national agricultural development and an environmentally-friendly society, just as the vice-chancellor appealed to farmers from the university’s extension villages to take full advantage of the workshop to broaden their knowledge on the ways of reducing the effects of climate change.

While speaking on ‘Moving from Subsistence to Lucrative Business,’ Stephen Olonade, CAVA II country technical expert on cassava production, said cassava production “is gradually moving away from subsistence to a lucrative business,” saying that farmers could only benefit effectively in the flourishing sub-sector, if they embraced good agronomic practices.

“Huge markets exist in the cassava sub-sector, particularly, in value chains such as ethanol, High Quality Cassava Flour, starch, grits and chips. The CAVA II project is committed to linking up farmers with these markets, but we want them to adopt new productivity enhancing technologies in order to benefit effectively from these lucrative value chains.

“With good farming practices, farmers can increase their yield by 25 percent and this will invariably increase their incomes,” he said.

Rauf Omotara, procurement manager, Allied Atlantic Distillers Limited, emphasised on the opportunities that abound in the cassava sub-sector, saying “there is every need for farmers to increase their production because now, there is market for them to sell their cassava roots.

“Normally, if a farmer cultivates cassava, the average yield he gets is 15 tons per hectare; however, with all these trainings that the CAVA II project is giving the farmers, they can get up to 35 tons per hectare. The more roots they harvest, the more profit they get.

“If a farmer cultivates a cassava variety with high starch content, he earns more money. For instance, in my company, fresh cassava roots with starch content above 26 percent is bought at a fixed price of N13,000 per ton. So, my message to farmers is that they should go out there and increase their cultivation, because there is a ready-market for their yields.”

BusinessDay reports that 600 bundles of improved cassava varieties, namely, TME 419 and TMS 96/1632 were also given out free-of-charge. The two varieties, which were given to the farmers, were chosen because they have high starch content and potential of producing 35 tons per hectare if the right agriculture practices are adopted by the farmers.

RAZAQ AYINLA