NIHORT develops technology to fight tomato pest

IN its resolve to tackle the ever rising spate of tomato’s Tuta Absoluta pest, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), hinted that it has developed a technology called the Absoluta Trap Tray.

The Institute’s Acting Executive Director, Dr Akeem Olaniyan, made this known during NIHORT’s 2018 In-House Review and Planning Meeting in Ibadan themed “Enhancing Economic Growth through Horticultural Value Chains’’.

The Director stated that the Institute had developed “NIHORT-LYPTOL’’, a fabricated machine for bio-pesticide extraction which would aid the fight against the Tuta Absoluta pest.

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According to him, “The tray trap brought down the level of Tuta Absoluta invasion in the five major tomato producing states that experienced the pest invasion heavily.”

He also stated that women and youths were being trained by the institute with an objective of providing them with the right horticultural knowledge.

Also speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Governing Board, Retired Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Garba, stated that other institutes in the country needed to assist the government in the goal of attaining food security.

“The current administration is ready to do its best to improve the agricultural sector to better the national economy; so, you should think of how to generate funds internally. You should come up with viable proposals; once you can justify the use, releasing funds to you won’t not be a problem. So, it all depends on you,” he said.