Gamma irradiation can stop post-harvest losses — Expert

The Head, Gamma Irradiation Facility, National Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), Abuja, Mr Mustapha Kajogbola Tajudeen, has said that farmers and food traders should bring their farm produce to the facility for irradiation processing which would help preserve the foods for longer shelf life.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a training programme on empowerment and usage of the facility, Tajudeen explained that after harvest, the produce of most farmers such as beans gets attacked by weevils and within months, the beans is destroyed, causing the farmers to lose money.

However, he noted that when such products go through the Gamma Irradiation Facility, the ray has a penetrating power that kills all developmental stages of weevils in produce like beans, maize and other cowpeas thereby enabling a shelve life of up to two years.

For yam, Tajudeen explained that when it starts sprouting, it has the ability to get spoilt quickly, but when it goes through the irradiation facility, it could preserve for a longer time.

He, however, warned that the seeds reserved for planting should not be brought to the facility because it has the ability to affect the DNA composition of the seed.