Organic agriculture
is enjoying growing acceptance in many advanced countries. Nigeria should
join in the crusade on the massive use or application of organic agriculture.
In August, 1996 over 1,000 delegates from 92 countries participated in the 11th
International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture which was held in
Denmark.
The promotion of
organic agriculture, protection of environment, quality and safety of food
and local self –reliance are essential elements of food security. Organic agriculture
ensures the long term security of human and material resources, producing
sufficient food of high quality while protecting the environment and conserving
biodiversity.
In other words,
organic agriculture is non-chemical agriculture, which is now gaining
popularity in Europe and America. Other developing countries including Nigeria
should join the crusade in the practice of non-chemical agriculture. The Food
and Agriculture organization (FAO) had encouraged local organic fertilizer
during the National Program for Food
Security (NPFS) activities in Nigeria.
Nigerian farmers are
henceforth advised to go into non-chemical agriculture. At this junction it is
necessary to highlight some advantages of organic agriculture:
1. Compost fertilizer
application to the soil acts as host and source of food to the growing plants
and promotes the activities of living creatures in the soil such as
earthworms, termites etc.
2. It improves soil
structure because colloidal materials in them help to bind loose soil particles.
3. It helps to
conserve soil moisture and reduces rapid soil temperature fluctuations.
4. Mineralization of
humus adds nutrients to the soil which will lead to an increase in plant yield.
5. It contributes in
balancing the acid/base condition of the soil.
6. It helps in
preventing soil erosion because it improves the structure of the soil and reduces
the speed of run-off.
7. Generally, the use
of organic agriculture has the answer for the safe and internationally
accepted foodstuff. Products from organic agriculture are safer and non-toxic
to soil and human beings.
8. Commercial production
and use of compost manure would help to improve agriculture and the economy.
It can boost food production, farmer’s revenue and at the same time provide
sound environment protection. However, one major disadvantage of the use of
organic manure like poultry manure is that you consider the quantity of the
material to use which is always very large and bulky. For instance you may
use about 500kg of poultry manure to serve almost the same purpose as 50kg
(one bag) of inorganic fertilizer like N.P.K. 20.10.10.
We are proud of our Indigenous Knowledge Technologies. (IKT).
We can use organic materials to store dry seeds like maize, cowpea (beans). The
dried guava and neem leaves can be reduced by grinding into powdery form and
use to store maize or beans. Also dry ground neem leaves mixed with hot pepper
for storing beans in air tight containers can equally be used. Other
Indigenous Knowledge Technologies include dressing seed yams with palm bunch
ash against fungal attack before planting and the use of palm bunch ash to rub
on bruised yam to avoid decay.
These are biological
or organic applications. Many parts of neem tree can be used- the leaves, seed
kernel and the bark. The entire neem tree (Dogonyaro) has bitter properties
but the most effective in repelling insects is the seed kernel. It can control
many insects like maize weevil, rice weevil and cowpea (beans) weevils etc. it
is on record that neem tree has been used for many years in India for
controlling insect-pests in farms, in the households and even in public health.
In Nigeria we cannot
talk of organic agriculture without talking about farm yard manure like sheep
and goat faeces, cattle and pig dungs, poultry manure etc. The integration of
animals into crop production systems will make available to the farmer almost
a free supply of fertilizer. The faeces, urine and other metabolic waste
products of domestic animals can all be utilized effectively in the preparation
of farmyard manure. In addition, organic agriculture must make for extensive
practice of composting (compost manure). Composting is thus the process of
rotting down of plants and animal remains in heaps before the residue is
applied to the soil. (Authority)
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