VINTAGE Cum HARVEST

Dry Season and light vegetation

Since soil is the greatest asset of the farmer, he adopts a number of measures to get the best out of it. These include pre-planting, planting and post-planting operations. As per certain crops, the three are running concurrently now that the first rain to mark the beginning of a new farming season is being expected.
Yam is being planted; cassava is being harvested while site selection and clearing of farmlands are being done at the same time. Thus vintage follows harvest and vice versa. In certain crops like oil palm, harvest is done all year round as it has no fixed season for it. By the end of the month we plan to start Nursery Practices to raise Garden Eggs and Pepper seedlings for transplanting when the rain comes. Site Selection has already been done. Meanwhile arrangement has been concluded to start clearing now that the bush is dry due to harmattan. Clearing is better in dry seasons, when the vegetation is light and the bush easily accessible.

It has been observed that Maize planted just after the first rain sells high due to high in demand at that time when very few farmers took the risk to plant just after the first rain. The crop performance and yield are also better because of availability of more plant nutrients, since there was not much leaching during the preceding dry season. Cassava also thrive better too if planted just after the first rain. But if after the first rain the dry season resumes, the cassava cuttings may fail to germinate while maize that might have managed to germinate would wither. This is why many farmers would not take the risk. At times if you don’t take the risk, you take the other risk of being overtaken by full swing rainy season, beginning from the first rain. So at first rain farmers are always in a dilemma. Some Christians would opine to the Scripture that says he who observes the weather would not plant. Even the Scripture encourages risk taking in order to succeed in farming enterprise.

Research and Renovation

Psychologically, man is the product of his heredity and environment. Hence a man in the technical society should be conscious of environmental friendliness. This may be far fetched without research and renovation. This is why ASACEI project cannot do without research in order to effect a change on the community and its ambience.
One of the outstanding problems facing farming in this part of the world is pest and disease infestation and infection. Women would sprinkle wood ash from the kitchen on affected crops in a bit to check this. We are going to exploit and revive this traditional method to see if we can find a good alternative to spraying of chemical insecticide with its attendant adverse effect on the environment.
Beetles, caterpillars and wasps, which now defied the chemical insecticides, attacked our Garden Eggs. Another serious pest that particularly hinders late planting of maize is termite. We are therefore appealing to other African countries to share with us any biological ways of controlling these pests. It is asserted that Vertiver grass can check termite attack. Be that as it may, it is feared that the grass can, on the other hand, constitute weed if planted with crops.
With the successes being recorded in our research so far, ASACEI Project is the more promising. Hitherto rural farmers did not see research as something to grasp but the success being recorded these days through research would spur many to research and good practice in Agriculture with resultant increase in yield to maximize profits. For instance, I have just discovered how fluted pumpkin that hitherto would bear at most two pods per stand can bear up to 5 pods. This is achieved through pollination by a farmer, who by hand picking, simply transfers the pollen grains on the anther to the stigma of the crop. This method was used to have the multiple fruiting shown in this blog. We are still experimenting to see if as many fruits as bud can blossom without falling off, leaving one survivor, as it used to be.
Since no one can fulfill his destiny alone, and whereas we’re only just beginning to appreciate Agric as a business and so are babes in the deal, we need to share and learn from the experience of others for us to grow from strength to strength.
Consequent upon this, we appeal to readers of this blog in and outside the Teach A Man To Fish family, who have all that it takes for us to solve our problems and remain in business, to share their technology, research and experience with us. We should appreciate such gesture.