1 min
“Good Agricultural Practices are very important as it guarantees that produced food is safe for consumption and at the same time protects farmers and the environment” says Nigerian food expert and agronomist Babatunde Olarewaju. In this week's edition of Letter to my Farmers, he discusses some Good Agricultural Practices for pre-, during and post-planting operations for safe food.
As mentioned in last week’s letter, food safety is an important cause, since food cannot be called food when it is not safe. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all actors in the value chain to protect the sanctity of food. Most importantly here are the producers: they are the custodians and first point of contact with it. Interestingly, adopting good agricultural practices before, during and after planting, all things being equal, would provide the assurance that the produced foods are not only safe for consumption, but that the process is sustainable for the ecosystem as well. In this letter, I will discuss some of the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) that exist in the pre-, during and post-planting operations.
For the pre-planting operations, the GAPs are: the use of certified and quality seeds for planting; adopting contour ploughing and ridging in case of steep sloping farmland; the use of well decomposed manure for land preparation, and avoidance of bush burning. The GAPs during planting activities are: the use of appropriate planting spacing for the various crops and varieties; and personal hygiene practices.
Furthermore, GAPs observed during post-planting operations are: the use of complete personal protective equipment (PPE) in pesticides application; observing post-harvest interval (PHI); adopting integrated pest management (IPM); hand washing practices, especially during harvesting; produce storage at the appropriate moisture content; and the use of pallet or wooden platforms against direct contact with the floor in the warehouse amongst others.
In conclusion, GAPs are very important as it guarantees that produced food is safe for consumption and at the same time protects farmers and the environment. Its practices do not pose any harm to the producers, likewise the environment in which food is produced will not be negatively impacted. This is the type of sustainability we all constantly clamouring for, especially at a time like this when producers are faced with the issue of climate change. Therefore, as stakeholders, let us continuously work towards promoting food safety as it is one of the paths to achieving food and nutrition security.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
Training on Good Agricultural Practices for Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State 
Babatunde explaining Good Agricultural Practices in Kaduna State
For the pre-planting operations, the GAPs are: the use of certified and quality seeds for planting; adopting contour ploughing and ridging in case of steep sloping farmland; the use of well decomposed manure for land preparation, and avoidance of bush burning. The GAPs during planting activities are: the use of appropriate planting spacing for the various crops and varieties; and personal hygiene practices.
As stakeholders, let us continuously work towards promoting food safety as it is one of the paths to achieving food and nutrition security
Furthermore, GAPs observed during post-planting operations are: the use of complete personal protective equipment (PPE) in pesticides application; observing post-harvest interval (PHI); adopting integrated pest management (IPM); hand washing practices, especially during harvesting; produce storage at the appropriate moisture content; and the use of pallet or wooden platforms against direct contact with the floor in the warehouse amongst others.
In conclusion, GAPs are very important as it guarantees that produced food is safe for consumption and at the same time protects farmers and the environment. Its practices do not pose any harm to the producers, likewise the environment in which food is produced will not be negatively impacted. This is the type of sustainability we all constantly clamouring for, especially at a time like this when producers are faced with the issue of climate change. Therefore, as stakeholders, let us continuously work towards promoting food safety as it is one of the paths to achieving food and nutrition security.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
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