Mr Ismail Olawale, fellow at the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), has called for better communication strategies to educate farmers on the hazards associated with misapplication of fertilizer.
Olawale made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
He said that the education was important in order to protect human health and for land preservation.
“An average Nigerian farmer most times exceeds the required quantity of fertilizers necessary needed for cultivating any crop for profits motives.
“For example, there is a particular antibiotic composition that is applied to poultry feed to facilitate their growth spurt and improved the size of their eggs.
“However, abuse of the composition has been noticed among local farmers, they double the composition dosage just to get extra profit from their produce,’’ he said.
Olawale further said studies have shown that the accumulation of these antibiotics in human body when they consume such, especially from poultry produce, would result in infertility in both men and women.
He said:“Nigerian farmers have always been exposed to information and enlightenment on the effects of fertilizers on the farmland and human health in the long run.
“When fertilizers are used on the land overtime it weakens the energy composition of the soil as well as affects human health when consumed overtime.
“There is so much information on the dangers of too much fertilizers application in crop cultivation but old attitudes die hard amongst these farmers.
“This information has been there, but what we need is to change the communication approach to erring farmers by bringing evidence-based cases of the impact of fertilizers misuse on human health.
“There is need for experts to communicate more with the farmers on the negative impacts of fertilizers overuse on human health as they do in advanced countries in order to promote organic farming.’’ (NAN)
