BEING A LECTURE DELIVERED IN COMMEMORATION OF 17TH ONLINE PRESENTATION AND DIALOGUE OF TODAY'S LEADER FORUM (2018) ON: MOMENT LIKE THIS, SITUATION LIKE THIS, IN A COUNTRY LIKE THIS ON THE TOPIC "ORGANIC AGRICULTURE; ETHNIC AND IMPORTANCE"- DAUD ABASS

BEING A LECTURE DELIVERED IN COMMEMORATION OF 17TH ONLINE PRESENTATION AND DIALOGUE OF TODAY'S LEADER FORUM (2018)

SPEAKER : DAUD ABASS

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Agriculture is an act of cultivating land for crop production and rearing of livestock for human consumption and for industrial purposes.

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE; ETHNIC AND IMPORTANCE.

⚛What is agriculture?
⚛What is organic agriculture?
⚛What are the basic principles of organic agriculture?
⚛Some of the importance of organic agriculture.
⚛Organic certification.
⚛Practice of organic farming in Nigeria.
⚛10 reasons why organic food are so expensive(Fox News, November, 2016.)
⚛What are organic inputs?
⚛Conclusion.

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Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production with ZERO use of synthetic substances such as pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, vaccines  in some cases, growth hormones and most times genetically modified organisms. It concepts helps balance nature.

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Below are some of the importance of organic agriculture:

🔷 Organic farming helps in building healthy soil: With the use of natural farm inputs, which leaves no harm to the soil...instead, improves the proliferation of soil fauna and flora.

🔷 Combating erosion: As raised earlier, any soil with sturdy and healthy conditions will improves the soil compactibility. Thereby, preventing erosion.

🔷 Organic agriculture also helps supporting Animal health and welfare. This point goes in harmony with the strict adherence to some basic principles of organic agriculture. For example, if you restrict the movement of your animal(using of cages for any kind of  livestock)....you are not an organic farmer. This even conform with animal laws which is strictly followed in some of the advanced nation.

🔷 Organic agriculture serves as a buffer to human existence: depletion of the ozone layers, soil degradation, carcinogenic effects of the residual substances used in conventional farming, modifications of living organisms which may incurred such organisms and it host a detrimental health effects..... all this hazardous effects of "chemical farming" is what organic agriculture helping to neutralize or if possible, halt.

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⚛Organic certification.
🔷 Organic certification is the act of issuing certificate to any organic farmer having fulfilled all the requirements laid by the certifying bodies.

📍What are these requirements?

Requirements differs from one country to another. But there are some general requirements, such as:
🔻Zero use of synthetic chemical inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, GMO's etc.
🔻The farm land should have an history showing no single record use of chemical on such land.
🔻Correct farm inventory ranging from number of staffs, land ownership documents, expected yield of any planting done on the farm, farm equipments, to number of workers, number of animals and their history, among other inventories.

⚛ Practice of organic agriculture in Nigeria.

Nigeria is not even among the best 5 organic nation in Africa in term of participation, not to talk of in the world. Even, we have some organic guru in Nigeria where some organic farmers across the world sees as boss.
For example, in the United States, one of the foremost organic farming nation in the world still considers the use of vaccines...they prove that vaccines are merely biological preparations without the use of any synthetic chemical or genetic modifications. But here in Nigeria, many herbs have been discovered to combat any kind of diseases which will be discussed during the course of the presentation.

Many constraints which limits Nigeria farmers to participate in organic agriculture majorly discussed in organic certification.

I can tell you that even if the number of organic farmer are few, those few are making edge in the field because Nigeria as a nation is blessed with various natural herbs and materials you can think of.

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⚛ 10 reasons organic food is so expensive( Fox News, November 2016).

🔷No chemicals which is equivalent to more labour.
🔷Demand overwhelms supply.
🔷Higher cost of organic fertilizers for organic crops.
🔷Crop rotation.
🔷Post harvest handling cost.
🔷Organic certification.
🔷Cost of covering higher loss.
🔷Better living conditions for livestock.
🔷Organic food grows more slowly.
🔷Subsidies.

Some examples of organic farming inputs are the following;

♦♦ Indigenous micro organisms(IMO's)
♦♦ Ginger-garlic extract.
♦♦ Fermented fruit juice(FFF).
♦♦ Fermented plant juice(FPJ).
♦♦ Fish amino acid(FAA).
♦♦ Calcium phosphate supplements.
♦♦ Neem extracts.
♦♦ Compost.
♦♦ Liquid rabbit fertilizers.
♦♦♦ The list is just endless..

📶 Note... Fermentation is the bedrock of most organic preparations.

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⚛ What are organic farming inputs?
Organic farming inputs are naturally prepared supplements used in carrying out different farming activities.
There are many materials that can be blended together to make farm inputs.. these are some of the materials;

♦ Lactobacillus (lab)
♦Ginger.
♦Christmas Mellon(Tagiri).
♦ Basil.
♦ Onion.
♦ Different kind of fruits.
♦ Hot pepper.
♦ Garlic.
♦ Clove.
♦ Molasses.
♦ Egg shells.
♦ Fish.
♦ Hibiscus plant.
♦ Aloe Vera gel.
♦ Neem tree
♦ among several others.

Some farming inputs produced purposely for plant can interchangeably used for animal or vice versa. This is achievable because some elements needed for growth and development of animal are most times needed for plant in the appropriate measures.
Organic agriculture is very broad and I  believe we need more of practicals to literature.....if I should check more from Google, the presentation would have been more ambiguous.

On this note I will end tonight presentation by saying we should be mindful of the food we eat and encourage any organic farmer if seen any because its not easy. Also,
Government, I believe can not do everything for us, but ourselves can learn how to practice simple chemical free agriculture in our environment with the use of relatively abundance natural materials at our disposal.

Thank you so much for the participation.

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ASKED

Organic crop production is indeed sustainable if one have the required knowledge.
The only aspect which still shakes some organic crops farmers is the aspect of weed management.
Mechanical system is allowed in organic agriculture, which means one can weed with machine. Also one can mulch to suppress weed and hand weeding depending on the land mass

Good to hear...you should be among the few am taking about.😍

Hmmmm. Most times, the quality of your produce is much more important to the quantity and this make organic crops more expensive.

Also, recent discoveries of different kind of organic fertilizers that definitely gives you not only good yield but diseases free crop.

More knowledge only needs to be seek.

It depends on your definition for "Good Agricultural practices" sir.

It is actually good if we can get to the verge of eradicating chemical farming because it does more harm than good.

For crop insects pest....you can use a preparation having ash, neem leaf and neem cake, peppermint....

For livestock. Ordinary hot pepper will cure coccidiosis in poultry COMPLETELY.

Yes. They are slow because most of the materials used in their preparation are natural and living... they are not chemicals that will mineralize in no time and act. But the resultant effect is slowly detrimental.

What can be done? Patience!

Not totally true sir. Because, even, if the instructions are strictly adhere to, the hazardous effects will still be felt on the soil over time. Sure, the effect is more if over applied.

Yes. It should, if executed properly. Though, it can never sustain all our need, but it is a phenomenon which help us balance our health status by providing us with quality food for our day to day activities. And anything that considers our health and making us spending less on our health is sustainable.

What about the positive effects on our environment? Planet?

Though, it activities look ambiguous.

Organic food actually gives more benefit than health...

Carrying out organoleptic sensory test on organic food, one would be marvel with its properties which helps to benefit man.
Also, the life span of any organic produce can never be compared to it inorganic counterparts. This is because biological properties of such food is not being uttered in any form.

What about if the products used in the agricultural manufacturing industries are organic base materials.

Thank you very much for this question.

We have arrays of farm inputs which have the ability to fight against any kind of diseases causing micro organisms such as virus, bacteria, protozoa, fungi and many broad spectrum micro organisms.
Just like chemotherapy, the organic approach is also systemic; different preparations of supplement which is produced by a farmer is always used to combat or prevent any kind of diseases as said earlier.

In other words, organic preparation actually have some components that serves as vaccines and also serves as  a form of therapy, even, for prevention.

Newcastle diseases and gomboro diseases are part of the major diseases in poultry production....We have this particular plant called Christmas Mellon, it is called tagiri in yoruba language.. This fruit is relatively found in our locality, we have a way to prepare it and serve the birds in an appropriate ratio, you can never see Newcastle or gomboro striking on you farm. We call it organic lasota and gomboro😍

Yes! Very few. Even at the verge of saying non.

Organic agriculture is a time wasting venture to most farmers....it needs alot of resilience to do researches on a particular plant relatively found in our environment suspected to have some properties which is useful to either animal or plant. All this constraints among others gives some farmers no interest in organic agriculture. This will also result to less affinity for researchers to carry out researches in such area since those at the receiving end are not interested.

I can't mention this name because I felt their significance almost a decade ago...but now, I can't really see their operations.

Yes sir! They are even far below convincing mind. But, the message is to just give us the insightful knowledge.

Because of the attitude of most of  farmers in Nigeria, not too resilient....Organic agriculture will never gain ground in this part of the world so as slow killing diseases incurred by residual substances of high load of chemical use in growing what we eat will never leave the coast.

How can they stop using chemical here in the north? That's why I agree with you.

That accolades belong to you boss. I love your questions and contributions.
Please. Continue going organic....your experience will make you become genus.

Organic farmers are using zero cost for animal production.