To help the Federal Government’s agricultural diversification drive,
Syngeta Nigeria has launched Ambligo, a new, fast acting pesticide that
could be used at any time, against many crop insects, ‘Tuta absoluta,’ a
deadly pest, which if not controlled could destroy up to 100 percent of
the tomatoes in a field.
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| pest on tomatos |
Syngeta also launched two new tomato
hybrids, Chibli and Kilele, and as well as introduced two local rice
seed varieties in Nigeria at an event held on Tuesday in Abuja.
There are records that
thousands of
hectares of tomato cropping are lost in a matter of hours due to the
‘tuta absoluta’ infestation, and investments worth hundreds of millions
on naira lost as a result of this tomato-consuming pest that ravages
products, mainly in the Northern part of the country.
At the event, experts who spoke with
BusinessDay, affirmed Ambligo’s potency to work against a wide variety
of sucking and biting pests in vegetables, potatoes and field crops.
According to them, the product could
give up to 21 days protection, meaning that farmers could reduce the
frequency that they need to spray their fields, saving time, energy and
money.
In addition to Ampligo, Syngetta also
launched Chibili and Kilele hybrid tomato variety for farmers who grow
for both the fresh and for the tomatoes processing market.
Kilele, a second hybrid tomato variety
could be harvested over a 10-week period compared to local varieties
that could take four weeks, whereas Chibili boasts of high improved
yields and nematodes resistance.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s current 2.9 million
tons of rice import is set to be averted with improved seed variety of
faro 44 and Faro 52 rice seeds, an improved local variety also launched
by Syngetta. As a result, farmers across Nigeria now have access to high
quality seedlings with assurance of improved germination and yield.
Shachi Sharma, director, Syngetta
Nigeria Limited, said they were working with the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development on best ways of boosting agricultural produce in
Nigeria. “We are also working with the seed council, quarantine
services, research institutes, root research crop institute in Plateau
State, Institute for Agricultural Research in Zaria and other research
institutes,” he stated.
He disclosed that a value chain study
including seed crops that they carried out in Nigeria found that the
country lost about 40 percent of the raw material that was produced
internally, due largely to poor transportation and storage
infrastructure. “The long shelf life of this variety would assist the
country a lot,” Sharma said further.
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