AATF Advises Beans Farmers on New Planting Window
Learn MoreTHE African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) said it has identified suitable planting windows for cowpea also known as beans for the different ecologies in the country.
AATF Regional Representative for West Africa, Dr. Jean Baptiste, who made the disclosure during a visit to Pandagric Farms, near Keffi, Nasarawa state said the windows will enable farmers to cope with the vulnerabilities of climate change.
The Cowpea field in Panda, spanning over 35 hectares is part of the dry season cowpea production being introduced by AATF to ensure the variety produces at its maximum in the absence of insect pressure and other climate vulnerabilities.
Dr. Jean noted that due to the impact of climate change resulting in either too much or too little rainfall or early cessation of rain, beans are not producing at their maximum potential leaving Nigerian farmers miserable during harvest.
“After a careful study of the situation, we have come to understand that because farmers are not guided on when to plant, crop productivity is often interrupted by climate uncertainties. The rainfall pattern for the country is not uniform and each year comes with its own surprises, so it is important for farmers to be accurately guided,” he said.
He noted that in the last few years, farmers have been suffering from several uncertainties associated with the rainfall pattern and this has greatly reduced cowpea productivity. “It is either that the rain is too much, submerging cowpea farms all over the place as a result of a flash flood, or the rains end suddenly, and drought set in at a time that the crop needed enough water.”
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He advised cowpea farmers to take advantage of identified planting windows which carefully arrived after studying the weather pattern in the last few years.
According to him, farmers in the Sahel region comprising Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, parts of katsina, and Parts of Sokoto states of the country should endeavor to plant from the 3rd and 4th week of June to enable them to maximize the opportunities of early rains and beat any possibility of early cessation while those in the Sudan Savannah region including Kebbi, parts of Sokoto, parts of Zamfara, parts of katsina, parts of Kano, Jigawa, parts of Bauchi, parts of Yobe and parts of Borno states should plant from the 1st to 2nd week of July.
He equally urged those in the Northern Guinea Savannah with the following states as Bauchi, Kaduna, parts of katsina, kano, and Zamfara to commence planting from the 3rd week of July to 1st week of August while those in Southern Guinea Savannah in which the following states as Niger, Kwara, parts of Abuja, Adamawa, Taraba, and Gombe belong have the 1st to 3rd week of August to plant.
After two years in the hands of farmers, some farmers have taken advantage of the prolific nature of the Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea to undertake two planting seasons during the cause of the planting year.
According to statistics from the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the PBR Cowpea is the most sought-after cowpea variety in the country currently.
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The variety is most preferred by farmers due to its early maturing quality, use of less chemical spray, high yielding, and high folder production.
Also, the AATF has perfected plans to sustain the gain recorded by the Nigeria’s first genetically modified crop variety, the Pod Borer Resistant beans with a second gene.
AATF had facilitated the environmental release of the first generation of PBR beans in 2019 after one decade of confined and on-farm trials by the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Speaking during a courtesy call to the Director-General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in Abuja, the AATF Regional Representative for West Africa, Dr Jean Bapsite, said that the testimonies from farmers on the importance of the PBR beans has charged the team to quickly work on the stacking of the gene of insert to protect the cowpea against any possible breakdown.
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He said: “As is the practice in science, we continue to improve on our successes and leave no gap for any breakdown. The Second gene will strengthen, reinforce, and increase the resistance level of the PBR Cowpea against any attack.”
The new beans variety was commercially released to farmers in 2021 and it is currently being planted all over the country with farmers counting the gains of yield increase, less use of chemical sprays and prolific fodder production when compared to the conventional cowpea varieties.
The Director General of NBMA, Dr Rufus Ebegba commended the AATF and its partners for developing and releasing a crop variety that benefits and enhances the livelihood of farmers.
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