By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA- As hunger blows hard across the country, East-West Seed, the 10th largest Vegetable Seed Company in the world yet rated number one, maintained that high-quality vegetable seeds guarantee food and nutritional security in the country, therefore, Nigerians can get involved by starting home, office, and school farms or gardens.

Speaking with Vanguard on the essence of the Farmers Field Day at Kuyash Integrated Farm, Jigwada, Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, the Country Director, East-West Seed Nigeria, Hadiza Yaro, pointed out that high-quality seeds can increase smallholder farmer’s yield and therefore boost food and nutrition security.

Meanwhile, some of the seed varieties presented during the Farmers’ Field Day by East-West Seed Nigeria, include TOMATO Platinum F1, Padma F1, Diva F1, and Anita F1 HOT PEPPER Piquante Red F1 and Spicy F1 AFRICAN LEAFY VEGETABLE Gboma Sika called Asibiti da Nisa in Hausa. Igbagba in Yoruba Akwụkwọ Anara in Igbo CUCUMBER Nandini F1.

Yaro said: “The Farmers Field Day is all about putting farmers, marketers, Agro-dealers and consumers together to showcase East-West Seed varieties alongside technologies that can actually improve their yields, and of course we know high yields at the end of the day translates into high income, when the right season for cropping calendar is studied.

“At East West Seed we provide high quality vegetable seeds, and with mentorship on good agronomic practices, meaning from the fertilizer regimes to keeping weeds out of the farm to taking the plant off the ground by staking, keeping insects pest and disease out of the field, practicing pruning, knowing the recommended plant spacing, paying attention to irrigation and drainage will improve the yields of the smallholder farmers.

“These basic principles of vegetable production will actually improve farmers’ yield, which will immediately help improve food security and not just food security because this is vegetable we are talking about, it calls to mind nutritional security as well.”

On the way out of hunger in the land, she counselled that since take home pay of N70,000 minimum wage even when implemented is not enough to meet critical demands at home including putting food on the table, “So what we are actually encouraging people is to have a home, office or school garden or to have small parcel of land, like today from four small ridges of 12 meters each, having a total of 200 plants we were able to harvest eight big baskets of tomato each weighing 27kg, more harvest is projected as these harvest marks the 2nd harvest, more fruits was left on the plants than what was harvested. Averagely, a plant gave 2.7kg per stand. Therefore, on a hectare, expected yield is about 60T- 70T per ha depending on season and plant population.”

“So if you are not able to feed your family, in addition to your minimal income, you can grab this opportunity to start a garden today, and at the end of the day, you cannot consume all that is planted which you might have to sell some and be able to buy some of your basic needs at home.”

Meanwhile, she (Yaro) said the seeds from East-West Seed Company are affordable, “Absolutely, the seeds are affordable, and you cannot talk about investment without money, if you don’t have the money then it’s difficult to start a business.”

“Seed is one of the least inputs in terms of cost, one needs in order to have a successful farming compared to other factors of production. If you want to compromise and use poor seeds or seeds without viability or farmers’ save-seeds, at the end of the day, you would not get the kind of yields we are seeing today.

She further stated, “We have a lot of showcases of farmers who have broken even with high return on investment (RIO). Madam Folake Ayub in South West Nigeria invested N700,000 to grow cucumber in less than a ha, and at the end of the day, she was able to sell her cucumber over N4 million within just 3months in year 2021. I don’t think the seeds are expensive, looking at the ROI.”

Meanwhile, the Manager, Kuyash Integrated Farm, Major Aliyu, Zubairu (retd), said the seeds from East-West Seed Nigeria, have really yielded an amazing harvest, which are used for the first time on the new site of the farm.

Zubairu, who spoke on the sidelines of the Farmers Field Day, also said that they are convinced with the yield they have seen so far from East-West seed.

According to him, the farm sits on a 56 hectare farm, which 25 hectares is being used currently, with 65 workers including male and female who are permanent employees with casual workers.

“We are using the seeds from East-West Seed Nigeria for the first time, but what we have seen today is fantastic, and we hope that other people will copy from us so that it will be expanded.

“Meanwhile, we are expecting a bumper harvest from this farm based on the kind of seeds we have planted and already yielding”, he said.

However, on the issue of adulterated seeds, he urged farmers to go for quality seeds for better and greater yields instead of patronizing sources that run them at loss.

“It is due to farmers’ ignorance, which some of them do not ask and go for any seed they see, or maybe avoiding the cost or whatever but at the end of the day they will find out that the seeds that is been tested and trusted is what they are supposed to go for and not others”, he said.

Meanwhile, in a goodwill message, the Director of Agricultural Services, Kaduna State, Bege Bugwon, called on Nigerians to take advantage of homestead gardening to produce their fresh and nutritious food, like displayed during the field day. He encouraged farmers to adopt the use of high-quality vegetable seeds for better yield.