Farmers continue to wage a silent war against a common adversary that threatens their livelihoods such as rats and rodents. These seemingly harmless creatures have become formidable foes, wreaking havoc on crops and leaving farmers in a difficult predicament. Farmers face a challenging dilemma when it comes to dealing with rodent infestations. While chemical poisons are a common solution to curb the menace, the fear of potential health hazards looms large. The toxic substances not only pose risks to the farmers themselves, but also to consumers, who may unknowingly ingest residues from treated crops.
Take, for instance, Farmer Albert Ukaeke, who has a palm oil plantation, with another maize, yam and cassava farm in the Ido local government of Oyo State, lamented that handling rodents especially during farming season is always resulting in fatigue for him. He explained that being an organic farmer, he avoids using anything that could cause health hazards on the farm land or crops. He said, “During late March and early June especially, the rodents disturb us a lot. What I do is to harvest my maize on time and go and store them to dry them else the rodents may damage the value of it”. Amidst this dilemma, some farmers are turning to innovative and eco-friendly alternatives to protect their crops without compromising public health. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, such as introducing natural predators or employing crop rotation strategies, are gaining traction.
However, the fear of natural predators like cats, tearing open green house net, or destroying another crop, leaves farmers in want of more innovative eco-friendly ways to deal with rodents. While some farmers use barn owls as natural predators, others employ scarecrow methods. For Farmer Ukaeke, he further laments that before he gets to his farm at times, a cassava might have been tampered with or the root of the plant exposed, which could later lead to the death of such plants. Some of those birds when they come, the cut a plant at the base as of it were sugar cane, others survive, but others die. For a farmer to enjoy sustainable agricultural practices; finding effective, safe, and environmentally-friendly solutions to rodent infestations must be considered paramount, every season.
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