In Ramadan, a date with ‘dabino’
One of the fruits with a long history of relevance in health, social and religious circles is the dates. Dates belong to the family of palm trees. The fruit has a long history of cultivation across Asia and Africa.
In Nigeria, date palms are largely cultivated in northern Nigeria, particularly in Bauchi, Kano, with Jigawa as home to the largest number of producers.
Abubakar Yakubu, the chairman of Date Palm Growers (DPG) in Jigawa State, puts the number of date palm growers in the state at about 1,500.
Our correspondent in Jigawa reports that the business of date nuts has been steadily thriving in the state over the years with the number of farmers and traders increasing daily.
The state is considered to be the most appropriate for the cultivation of date palm in the country.
The fast expansion in the cultivation of date palm trees in the state reduces importation of Dan Agadez, a popular date nut from Niger Republic.
The new arrival of Dan Hausa variety of nuts from Jigawa date palm plantations now dominates the entire Nigerian market.
Currently, Dan Hausa only competes with date nuts from Mali and Saudi Arabia.
Gujungu, Sara and Shuwarin markets are some of the major centres of date nuts trade in Jigawa State as people from all parts of the country troop in for bulk purchases.
The month of Ramadan, which most often coincides with the harvest period, turns out to be the peak period of date nuts trading and consumption.
The increase in the demand of the nuts is related to the increase in the demand of the product during Ramadan.
Muslims are enjoined to break their fast with the nut, hence the high demand.
Six health benefits of dates during the Ramadan Iftar include: helping the person’s stomach to easily digest food, reduces “hunger feeling of the fasting person and so he doesn’t rush into excessive food which causes digestion disorders.”
After a day long period of inactivity, dates help the fasting individual after eating by “activating the release of digestive secretions and juices.”
“Dates are very rich with sugary energy and so the body is supplied the most important nutrients which is sugar that is irreplaceable as a nutrient for brain cells and nerves, protect the fasting person from having constipation as a result of changing meals or as a result of having low fiber amounts in meals and the alkaline salts in dates adjust the acidity of blood which result from excessiveness eating of meat and carbohydrates which causes a lot of hereditary diseases as diabetes, gout, renal stones, gall bladder inflammations, high blood pressure and hemorrhoids,” it added. The Nigerian Institute for Oil palm Research (NIFOR), Benin City, Edo State, which has been in existence since 1939 with a primary mandate to improve production of oil palm, date palm ( Dabino in Hausa), coconut palm and raffia palm, has produced different early maturing varieties in its outstation in Dutse, Jigawa State.
Dr. Segun Solomon, the Director, Research of the Extension & Economic Department, took Daily Trust through some of their mandate crops and explained that the institute did a lot in terms of genetic appreciation of the crops to get out the best planting materials for farmers- best materials in terms of adaptation to the nation’s climatic conditions, in terms of yields and in terms of handling by farmers.
For the date palm (Dabino), NIFOR has developed technology which easily identifies the male and female stock of the seedlings. This solves the problem of unproductive male seedlings.
For date fruits, they have been able to develop some packaging technology that can make it retain its taste for 12 months. They also produce syrup from date fruits.
What the institute has in terms of gestation period for the date palm is relatively very short.
“If you follow recommendations in terms of the best management practices for the date palm, the gestation period goes about four years, and in some cases even less than that. But like I told you, it would depend on good management practices,” the researcher said.
He said the institute is ready to supply any quantity a farmer needs if he/she notifies them many months ahead, adding that such notification would enable them get what the farmer needs in terms of quantity and variety through breeding before supply.
The new arrival of Dan Hausa variety of nuts from Jigawa date palm plantations now dominates the entire Nigerian market For date fruits, they have been able to develop some packaging technology that can make it retain its taste for 12 months. They also produce syrup from date fruits