Strange disease disturbs rice farms in Kastina

Rice farmers in Katsina State, this year, experienced a strange disease in a form of worm which dried their crops before they mature. A rice farmer in Kafur Local Government Area, Mr Lika Shaure, said the dreaded pest surreptitiously destroyed rice farms, taking some farmers unawares in the harvesting period. Shaure said: “Only a few […]

Rice farmers in Katsina State, this year, experienced a strange disease in a form of worm which dried their crops before they mature.
A rice farmer in Kafur Local Government Area, Mr Lika Shaure, said the dreaded pest surreptitiously destroyed rice farms, taking some farmers unawares in the harvesting period.
Shaure said: “Only a few of us noticed the pest attack at its early stage, while many only realised the damage at the point of harvest. The pests are in a form of small worms that are sucking the seedlings dry, especially of a rice varieties that we locally called ‘Jamila’ and ‘Jeep’ which are of the best varieties.”
Shaure added that the yield of his rice farm was adversely affected as he only harvested 40 bags, instead of the 100 bags he used to harvest in the last two years.
Another farmer, Abdullahi Dango Masari, said the situation was unfortunate, especially that all their efforts of applying different types of pesticides failed to arrest the disease.
Abdullahi Dango said: “The pest attack resembled that of tomato that occurred months back. Appropriate medication is yet to be unraveled. We tried different kinds of pesticides all in vein, and the annoying part of it is that the disease affected only the most suitable varieties of the crops – the ones we called ‘Jeep,’ ‘Jamila’ and ‘Mai biro.”
He further identified poor market price as another setback for rice farmers this year, saying that “the best of paddy rice now cost only N4,100 as against N6,000 in the last two years.”
A retired agricultural extension worker and now agro-allied products dealer in Dandume, Alhaji Murnai Bara’u, dismissed the assertion of most farmers that the disease affecting their rice is a worm attack.
He said: “The pest attack worrying rice these days are ascomycetes and basidiomycetes which are commonly affecting cereals and vegetables. The fungi disease is almost similar to that of cocoyam and it will be hard for a farmer to notice it at its early stage.’’
He also explained that forcelet with active ingredient of carbendazim can be used as preventive and sometimes curative measure against the disease.
He further enjoined rice farmers to always dress their seedlings with preventive solutions before planting.
With the issues raised by farmers, the renowned Dandume rice market seems unperturbed as volumes of both paddy and processed rice featured prominently in the market.
The Chairman Rice Sellers Association in the market, Alhaji Sani Zubairu, said the pest attacked only selected varieties of the rice, hence their gross market supply was not seriously affected.
“Dandume is the rice hub of Katsina State and it is hard for you to notice the effects of the pest attack in the market supply of the commodity since not all the rice varieties were affected,” the chairman said.
He therefore called on the relevant authorities, especially the Katsina State government to empower rice farmers and sellers, adding: “Agricultural research institutes should please study this rice problem before it escalates and provide us with a reliable solution. Similarly, government should provide rice farmers with new improved seedlings and pesticides at subsidised rates in order to attain rice self-sufficiency in the country.’’
The chairman observed that the rice section of the market was in dire need of modern market stalls to shield the businessmen and their commodities from a scotching sun and rainfall.
Investigations revealed that for over 50 years now, people used to come from different states and regions of the country to buy rice in Dandume market with people from Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kogi, Yobe, Borno and Kano states as major business partners of the market.