Cassava farmers blame weeds for low yields

Young farmers in the country have identified weeds as the most challenging limitation to cassava farming.

A statement on Thursday, at an interactive discussion at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, also said regular weeding had not been able to curb the constant sprouting and spread of weeds.

At the meeting with members of the Cassava Weed Management team, a young farmer with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Akinyele Bankole, said, “Our experience is that even before you complete the first course of weeding, you see another set of grasses coming behind.

“We have weeded about five times but it appears we are not doing anything when you see the weeds in the fields. This is the most difficult challenge we are facing,” he added.

“And sometimes it looks discouraging seeing our fields with weeds competing with cassava,” Evelyn Ohanwunsi, another young agribusiness manager added.

According to the statement signed by the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert, Godwin Atser, researchers estimate that weeding takes 50 to 80 per cent of the total labour budget and up to 200-500 hours of labour, of mostly women and children, are required to prevent economic cassava root losses in Nigeria.

In response, the Project Leader for the project Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria, Dr. Alfred Dixon, said solutions on weed control in cassava farms were underway following efforts between IITA and its partners to combat weeds in cassava.

The statement stressed that under the cassava weed management project, Dixon and his team were conducting research that would develop new innovative weed management practices, combining improved varieties, proper planting dates, plant populations, and plant nutrition, all coupled to intercropping and tillage options, through well-focused trials in the three agro-ecologies where cassava dominates in Nigeria.

It said that the project was also testing herbicides for efficacy and economic merit to help make weed control more effective.

Dixon said results from the five-year cassava weed research would be shared with the IITA young farmers and other farmers to enable them to make informed decisions that would not only increase the productivity of cassava but also make cassava farming more attractive and put money in their pockets.

He was quoted as saying, “I am sure with the cassava weed project, we will be able to tackle the menace of weeds… so be rest assured… we will support you,” he said.