Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has announced the plan of the Federal Government to begin the production of pulses for export to India by 2019.
Ogbeh made this known in Abuja while speaking with newsmen.
As stated by him, he said pulses are edible seeds of plants in the legume family which grows in pods and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization recognises pulses as dry beans, dry broad beans, dry peas, chickpeas, cow peas, pigeon peas, lentils, bambara beans, among others.
The minister noted that the country was considering organic agriculture for the production of the pulses.
He disclosed that a research was currently ongoing for the multiplication of microbes to serve as a substitute to fertiliser.
“We got some seedlings and carried out some tests. We should be in full production next year for exports to India which has made demands on us and we have to produce according to their specification.
“We are looking at organic agriculture preferably especially for the horticulture and the grains.
“We want to avoid salt based fertiliser as much as possible. We have research going on in Abuja on the multiplication of microbes as a replacement to fertiliser.
“You take microbes from the soil, multiply them in the laboratory and put them back in the soil and that is a substitute for fertiliser,” he said.
Ogbeh who stated that cattle contributed about seven per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), added that plans were underway to stop cattle from roaming.
“We also have organic fertilisers which we may spray on crops and discourage cows from eating the crops. Cows don’t like the smell, we are doing an experiment and it is working but it is too early to announce results,” he said.