The World Bank under Fadama III Additional Financing Project in Jigawa State, says it is partnering UPL-RICO, a specialist in rice crop protection around the globe, to boost rice production by conducting a demonstration trial of early post emergence herbicide known as EROS GOLD.

This was disclosed by the Jigawa State Commissioner of Agriculture, Alhaji Kabiru Ali, at the trial held at the demonstrators ion farm located at Gada/Ganji rice production cluster in Kirikasamma Local Government Area.

According to him, “rice, being an important crop in Nigeria, therefore, the state government is doing its best in collaborating with investors and Agricultural experts to increase rice production and support farmers with effective insecticides and herbicides for the control of pests, diseases and weeds and the increase production all over the State.”

He commended the Fadama III (AF) and UPL-RiceCo for the collaboration and support to the farmers in the state: “I am very glad with the progress seen on the demonstration plots and I urge all the production clusters officials to ensure that they have adopted and step down the new technology acquired to their group members for increase in yield.”

Delivering a welcome address, the acting state coordinator Fadama III (AF), Aminu Isa Ringim, informed that over the last one year, all efforts were made to prepare business plans in the 23 participating LGA’s. So far, eleven clusters for rice and twenty-three for sorghum have been formed and awaiting implementation in the next coming season, in addition to the two rice clusters implemented during the last dry season.

Mr Shanni Srivastava representative of the company stated that the herbicide demonstrated, EROS GOLD, is with pre-emergence to early post-emergence activity on weeds in rice crops.

The farmers expressed happiness with the performance of the new herbicides, even as they were warned that it could not be used for other crops.