The raining season last year was so heavy, the Nigerian Meteorological Center(NIMET) predicted a heavy flood across the country, farmers in lowlands were also notified to expect the worst. We didn't know it's going to come in different ways.

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On this fateful day I woke up to a call by a fellow farmer in my cooperative, asking me to come over to his farm, on getting there I saw what I haven't seen before in all my farming carreer. A farm full of locust swarm. They were everywhere, boring deep into the leaf, leaving a horrible damage to his farm of maize, okro and casaava, all intercropped.

"The rain brought them" he said, trying to cry because he has invested a lot into it.
I had to call two other farmers like me to come see this, and we started brainstorming on the best possible way to tackle the issue at hand.

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The issue there is, leaf boring insect are dangerous, leaving larvae behind that bore deep into plant stem, they bore into the leaves so much that the plant finds it hard to grow, thereby causing a stunted growth. The worst of it all ?, the loss is permanent, non- recoverable.

We thought on so many things that could be done, they are :

1. Use of Synthetic/Inorganic Pesticide : using this means we are harming the ecosystem, also reducing the population of locust, leaving a harmful residue both on the plant and the soil. It also kills the microbes in the soil.

2. Organic Pesticide : we were majorly faced with two options here
   A. So many organic pesticide in the market, many are actually synthetic but labeled organic for the purpose of selling. And those that are actually fake. So we can't go that way.

B. Making our own pesticides : this sounds like a good idea, but how are we going to do that? Knowing fully well the clock is ticking.
I had to share with them my recipe in combating pest in my farm

1. Garlic
2. Neem Oil
3. Cayenne/Bird eye pepper
   

Steps :
Garlic and pepper is made to soak in a bottle for few days, you can make it a week, the water is sieved and added to Neem oil and used in ratio 1:10 with water, the farmer at his own discretion depending on how sever the infestation is can increase the dose, the beauty there is, there is no over-dose when using natural pesticides, they leaves no residue too.

But in this case, we can't wait for seven days, so I have to go back to my farm and bring it. We used it with knapsack sprayer and in the evening too.
The next day, he called me to say there is no traces of locust or any pest in the farm. I was happy.

Many farmers don't believe that if we dont look inward to developing indigenous ways to combat challenges in the farm, we might become slaves to synthetic pesticide which account to

Precautions Using Pesticides (Inorganic /Organic)

1. Apply in the morning or evening.
2. Wash the knapsack sprayer before and after use
3. Wear a complete farm gear.

The menace of locust isn't common in this part of the world to be comsidered a severe pest. Though there damages is fatal. But the fact remains, pest ravaging farms can be dealt with organically. If we develop ourselves indigenously.

Happy Farming.