WEDNESDAY- 27th October, 2021: The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) , Obafemi Awolowo University, Moore plantation ,has trained its field staff on the basic field operational procedure on experimental stations.
The training which was sponsored by Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) was put together to educate the staff and other participants on the principles of soil sampling and profiling for experimental purpose, principles of crop research &field experimentation (design & Layout), introduction to seed production, processing & quality maintenance, introduction to farm management and record keeping and safe handling of Agro-chemical and farm equipment for agricultural research.
Some of the key speakers of the training were, Dr. D.J Oguniyan, Senior research fellow of Maize equipment programme IAR&T, Dr. J. A Adetunmbi of Crop & Seed Unit IAR&T, Mr. Amusan I.S from seed processing and storage section CPSU, IAR&T.
Dr. Oguniyan while giving his lecture on research and field experimentation, defined experiment as the process to support or validate a theory and that it may take years before the result comes out.
He added that Crop research is important and has developed beyond cultivation of crops only but also extended to control of diseases and pests or reduction of crop loss, also stating that crop research help to improve crop quality, productivity, livelihood and protection of environment.
Dr. J.A Adetumbi who spoke on seed production, processing & quality said ‘’ important improvement on seed quality can be achieved by following appropriate agronomic practice starting with land preparation, choice of seed and with handling of harvested materials”.
He described the two principles of seed production as Genetic principle which bothers on inheritance and genetic makeup that are crop specific and the second as Agronomic Principles that concern on decisions and actions that will be taken in the course of the seed production with the intention of producing high quality seed that will be affordable to farmer consumer. Dr Adetunmbi also make mention of site selection, choice of field, feed processing, steps in seed processing, seed storage seed arrangement, seed treatment and seed testing.
On his part, Mr Amusan I.S, from seed processing and storage section CPSU, IAR& T talked on safe handling of Agro Chemical and farm equipment, he defines Agro-Chemical as a chemical product use in Agriculture which must be handle with care. He further mentioned how to use pesticides to fumigate crops that won’t affect the seeds from growing, method of application/sparing and best way to keep it after use and how to handle some farm equipment.
However, the training was not limited to the Staffs of IAR&T alone as different units of farmers from towns in oyo state were present at the training ground to acquire more knowledge on how to lay their seeds, make research and experiment their soil before plantation of crops.
In an interview with CEOAFRICA, the deputy director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Moore Plantation, ibadan, Dr. Saka Olaide, stated that the Training was organized out of the need to meet the gap that was identified when the Director of the institute, Prof. Veronica Obatolu came into power and to meet up with the dealings as a research institution which conduct trainings for farmers and other stakeholders in agricultural industry. Adding that the quest and need to constantly update the people’s knowledge in all field of Agriculture made the institution management seek for the support of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(FMARD)to organize training for field staffs to enhance their knowledge for a good crop productivity and make them stand out in their various field. Dr. Saka said, he believes that after the training, the staffs will have good knowledge that is going to enhance the performance of their duties and increase in productivity as staffs and the institution will be better off in delivery on research mandate.
One of the staffs and participant present at the training, Mrs. Goriola Veronica Oluwatobi expressed her gratitude to the Director of the institution Prof Veronica Obatolu for organizing such educating programme, stating that she learnt a lot during the course of the training
Another participant from Kishi Station, Mr Jibiru Rauf, said the training is a knowledge opener to so many things which he can’t but mention few of it, stating that he now understands seed layout, the danger in misuse of chemicals, mis-handling of farm equipment and the harm it can cause to the farm land and human itself.
