Stakeholders in the agriculture sector yesterday met in Abuja, to brainstorm on how best to improve storage of cereal crops without the use of chemicals.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Agricultural Economist, Abdoulaye Tahirou said the meeting was a gathering of agro dealers promoting the use of storage bags rather than use of chemicals.
“We are doing this with the consent of the ministry of agriculture. These bags allow farmers to store their crops safely for several months without the use of chemicals. They were designed purposely for the storage of cowpea but later, we researched and expanded it to include other crops like sorghum and others.
“In the next few years, the bags would be used for the storage of so many crops because if you don’t use chemicals, for storage, many people will patronise you.
“The bags are being produced in Kano, but the network is not really enough that is why we are meeting to brainstorm on the supply chain. We want to get them to villages where farmers are,” he said.
PICS Supply Chain Network Manager, East and South Africa, Jean Njiru said the bags were already being used in Kenya, Nigeria and a few other countries, stressing that the target was for them to have a wider reach and acceptability.
