IITA-CWMP targets 11,000 cassava farmers on weed control  

Though Nigeria is a global leader in cassava production, with average yield on farmers’ fields of about 14 tons per hectare, one of the limiting factors to increased production is poor weed control.

To address this, the Steering Committee of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-managed Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP), is working with partners within and outside Nigeria to provide solutions to weed damage to crops.

It has approved the establishment of 58 on-farm trials across Nigeria for the 2016 season. The plan is to reach, through the on-farm trials, at least 11,000 farmers with series of weed control options, and offer them opportunity to choose weed control methods that best suit their locality and address their needs.

At the 2016 Steering Committee meeting held in IITA, Ibadan, Oyo State, recently, a Deputy Vice Chancellor from the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Prof John Ayoade, who chaired the meeting on behalf of the Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Dr. Julius Okonkwo, said the on-farm trials would validate the two-year results obtained from research stations.

According to IITA, the on-farm trials will involve farmers from Benue, Abia, Oyo and Ogun states on different aspects of weed control, including the use of motorised mechanical weeders, best-bet agronomic practices, including correct spacing, improved variety, cassava/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.

Project Leader, IITA-CWMP, Dr. Alfred Dixon, 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 stakeholders in this equation.”

The Steering Committee, which plays an oversight role on the project, is headed by the Executive Director of NRCRI, Okonkwo and other 11 members drawn from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), and CropLife.

Others are; 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.