By Fortune Eromosele, Abuja

An enthusiastic young farmer, Oluseyi Oyenuga, has incapacitated the stronghold of weeds in his farm and doubled his yields by using Lagon, a herbicide for controlling weeds.

Recall that Vanguard had on September 2, 2021, reported the official launch of the Lagon herbicide by Bayer, which has been tested on more than 200 trials and demos across Nigeria and Tanzania, and was rated among the top best preemergence herbicides for control of both grasses and broad-leaf weeds in cassava.

Oyenuga, who is the Executive Director of ATMAN Corp Nigeria Limited located at Alako-Idia, Oyo State, resides in Ibadan, with his 850 hectares of farmland located at Ido town in Oyo State where he farms and processes cassava on a commercial scale.

Prior to meeting Bayer Nigeria in 2018, Oluseyi Oyenuga had spent his years of farming consistently recording low yields on his farm. According to him, his annual yields never exceeded 8 MT/Ha regardless of the quantity of inputs used on his farm. He suffered poor germination and stunted growth of his crops as a result of applying herbicides that were unsuitable for cassava.

However, Oyenuga’s narrative changed after his contact with Bayer Nigeria, when they came to his organisation to advertise their atrazine-free herbicide for cassava named Lagon.

Tired of his previous low yields, he opted for a change; he bought and applied Lagon atrazine-free herbicide suitable for cassava on his farm, following Bayer’s guidelines. In the first year, he recorded a harvest of 12 MT/Ha of cassava and to his awe, Oluseyi’s subsequent yields increased to 18-20 MT/Ha because they could now properly handle the herbicide and apply appropriately.

Oyenuga further stated that he has benefited a lot from his relationship with Bayer Nigeria and that using lagon has enabled him save money to cultivate more lands. He added that his increased productivity has enabled him secure his supply chains.

According to him, working with Bayer Nigeria has saved him the cost of buying unsuitable brands of cassava herbicides at higher prices, the cost of low productivity and the inability to meet cassava demands by processors.

He said, “I am drawn to the people and the product of Bayer Nigeria because aside their exceptional customer relations, they give value for my money. Bayer is helping me reach my goal of scaling my investments and I am grateful for that.”