A Dutch-funded horticultural programme, HortiNigeria, has trained 60,000 farmers in modern pest control to combat plant diseases in Kano State.

The Sector Coordinator, Business linkage HortiNigeria, Abdullahi Umar, said this on Monday during the Integrated Pest Management exercise at Gidan Kwari demonstration site in the Bunkure Local Government Area of the state.

He said that the exercise was designed to expose farmers to innovative solutions and techniques through application of traps and bio-pesticide to stem tomato common disease (Tuta Absoluta or Tomato ebola).

Mr Umar said that application of the new method would also deal with the pest resistant to chemicals.

He stated, “We targeted 60,000 farmers between Kano and Kaduna, after the training for 12 months. We would move to other states for similar exercise. The IPM is coordinated for a greater Tuta management both environmentally and economically, enhance farmer access to finance and market, to enable them to scale up their businesses.’’

Mr Umar said that the programme equipped the benefiting farmers with tools to mitigate the impact of pests on tomato plants and encourage resilience in farming communities facing the disease.

He said that farmers would be linked to the companies producing the pest solutions to mitigate its impact on the plant.

He stated, “We aspire to empower farmers to overcome the challenges posed by the dry season and cultivate bountiful harvest sustainably.’’

Also speaking, the Technical Specialist, East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Sebastian Agada, identified Tuta absoluta as a major obstacle to tomato farming that causes zero yield at harvest.

Mr Agada stated, “Today we harvested fresh tomatoes after undergoing few weeks Tuta Absoluta management amidst the pressing challenges faced by farmers during the dry season and the current scarcity of tomatoes in Nigeria.’’

One of the farmers, Muhammad Sani, commended the gesture, adding that it reduced the risk and waste of tomato produce.

(NAN)