IITA gets approval for 58 on-farm trials

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) managed steering committee on Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) has gotten approved for the establishment of 58 on-farm trials across Nigeria for the 2016 season in order to boost cassava production through good weed control measures.

The plan is to reach, through the on-farm trials, at least 11 000 farmers with a basket of weed control options, and offer farmers the opportunity to by themselves choose weed control methods that best suit their locality and address their needs.

Nigeria a global leader in cassava production with an average yield on farmers’ fields about 14 tons per hectare which is half of what is obtained from research stations.

One of the limiting factors to increased productivity in cassava production is poor weed control, and the IITA-CWMP is working with partners within and outside Nigeria to provide solutions to weed damage to crops.

Alfred Dixon, project leader, IITA-CWMP, said the on-farm trials would provide opportunity for both researchers and farmers to work together on the path of discovery in a participatory manner.

“Our research approach is inclusive and farmers are important stake holders in this equation,” he said.

The on-farm trials will involve farmers from Benue, Abia, Oyo and Ogun states on different aspects of weed control including the use of motorized mechanical weeders, best-bet agronomic practices including correct spacing, improved variety, cassava and maize intercrop, use of fertilizers and tillage practices, and the use of environmentally friendly herbicides.

Each on-farm trial is about one and half acres and will be researcher-managed.

John Ayoade, deputy vice chancellor, University of Agriculture Makurdi, who chaired the meeting on behalf of the Julius Okonkwo, executive director, National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, said the on-farm trials would validate the two-year results obtained from research stations.

The steering committee, which plays an oversight role on the project, is headed Julius Okonkwo, executive director of NRCRI and other 11 members drawn from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), CropLife, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), University of Agriculture Makurdi (UAM), Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), a private consulting firm, IITA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Josephine Okojie