New fertiliser recommendation to guarantee maximum yield – Prof Tarfa
Prof. Bitrus D. Tarfa, Principal Investigator for the Optimising Fertiliser Recommendation for Africa project in Nigeria (OFRA) has said Fertiliser Optimisation Tool (FOT) gives farmers the required nutrients to apply in order to achieve maximum yield for particular crops.
The FOT is an output of OFRA, and a partnership between CAB International, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems in 13 sub-Saharan Africa countries including Nigeria and University of Nebraska Lincoln, USA. It is also supported by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). It is a computer based tool free for download and has instructions on how to use them.
He explained that fertiliser recommendations for the agro-ecological zones in the country were developed more than 30 years ago hence not meeting the needs of present day farmers, adding that the recommendations did not also consider financial ability of farmers and does not present alternatives to specific fertiliser types to suit farmers’ locality.
Prof Tarfa however applauded the FOT for considering financial abilities of farmers and said it was developed for all agro-ecological zones of Nigeria.
“The recommendations we had before was NPK year in year out, and for example some of our soils are rich in potassium, so the farmer doesn’t need to pay for it because it is free in the soil.
“We are hoping in the future that with this recommendation, farmers can just call you in the office and tell you which type of crops they want to grow and the agroecological zone and you will generate it for them,” he said.
The don noted that they have trained scientists and researchers from all universities with Faculty of Agriculture, Research Institutes, states’ Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and extension agents on how to use the tool.
He added that the project was in stages and there are plans to develop a calibration tool for farmers on how to quantify measurements of fertilisers.
He implored the Federal Government to take it up for the overall benefit of Nigerian farmers.