‘Borer denying our beans farmers enough yield’

Speaking to Daily Trust in an interview recently, the deputy director maintained that pod borer, called Maruca by scientists, is the greatest enemy of beans farmers as it destroys the crops leading to low yield and serious economic losses annually. “There is no farmer in the state that doesn’t know about maruca and its damaging […]

Speaking to Daily Trust in an interview recently, the deputy director maintained that pod borer, called Maruca by scientists, is the greatest enemy of beans farmers as it destroys the crops leading to low yield and serious economic losses annually. “There is no farmer in the state that doesn’t know about maruca and its damaging effect,” he further stated.
Birnin Kudu said: “We farm beans three to four times in a year in Jigawa State using rain water, residual water and irrigation. But even at that, the yield still stands at about 350kg per hectare. That’s just about three and a half bags and it’s not enough.
“We need a variety that is resistant to pod borer urgently to improve beans yield. 100kg bag of beans sells for between N22,000 to N28,000 depending on the time and location. If a farmer can get more bags per hectare, he will definitely make more money,” he told our reporter.
He appealed to the government, researchers and other stakeholders to adequately and promptly play their respective roles in order to find a lasting solution to the pod borer challenge, so as to make beans farming lucrative and ensure food security as well.