Farmers urged to utilise dry season for quality produce

NIGERIAN farmers have been urged to take advantage of the dry season  to dry their crops for quality produce.

Speaking during a capacity building programme for administrative staff of Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Ilorin, Kwara State, the executive director of the institute, Dr. Patricia Pessu, said that solar operated dryers would give farmers more quality produce.

“One of the problem we have in post harvesting is drying of crops. If crops are not properly dried and they are taken into the storage, maggots will spoil thems. We have driers that have been developed by the institute that can be used to dry crops. They can now be stored for longer period.

“In post harvest this is the period when crops are harvested. Farmers can take advantage of it and dry their crops, making use of solar operated driers to dry their crops to ensure quality crops.

“We have for example the silo which can be used to store grains without the use of insecticide. Each facility that we have developed in the institute can be used to store grains without the use of insecticide and also we have various dryers that the institute has developed for drying of agricultural produce”, she said.

Also speaking on agric research, the NSPRI boss called for collaboration between government and private sector to ensure adequate funding for researches that could improve agric production.

“The government is trying in terms of research but government cannot do it alone. There is a call now that the private sector should be brought in as done in other countries so as to improve funding for research. The government is funding but the funding from the government alone cannot give us the desired result. The call now is that private sector should be brought in as it is done in other  countries where various crops  association can take up an institute and develop technology that would be beneficial to them. And the way such technologies are developed, it goes back to benefit of crop group and to the institute. That is an approach that can also help to increase funding for the government out of what we presently have” she said.

While addressing administrative staff of the institute on capacity building, she said the training, aimed to build up capacity of the staff from all the zones, would form a platform for better performance.

Meanwhile, the workshop consultant, Mr Lanre Babalola, said that essence of the programme was to enhance productivity, efficiency level and job capability of the administrative personnel, to develop verbal and non verbal reasoning, design action plan to transfer to workplace, managing time as well as to enhance memory and sustain knowledge acquired, adding that they are expected to extend the training to other members of staff.

One of the participants, Christopher Abah from Abuja office, expressed delight over the capacity building, saying the training would effectively add value to all the participants.