A team of experts from within and outside West Africa will meet November 20-22 in Nigeria to enhance South-South cooperation, exchange of knowledge on best practices and lessons learned on appropriate technologies and techniques for utilisation of Neem in the production of biopesticides and other products.
The three-day meeting organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in collaboration with the government, is expected to lead to action oriented programme and strategies for the cultivation, processing and conservation of the Neem tree in West Africa.
... experts are expected from India, China, Thailand, Mynamar and Germany while participating countries include Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The Neem tree appears to possess desirable characteristics while numerous scientific studies show, that extracts of Neem fruits, seeds, seed kernels, twigs, stem bark, root bark and leaves possess insect antifeedant, insecticidal, insect growth disrupting, nematicidal, fungicidal, bactericidal, anti-flammatory, antitumor and immuno stimulating activities.
The Neem tree (Azadirachta indica), for example, is a source of chemicals that have been used successfully in pest management. It is endemic in Asia and some West African countries and has been used traditionally by small farmers and the landless poor for multiple purposes like preparation of organic manure and organic pesticides.
Neem materials are easy to process by village-level industries and easy to use; thus, they may offer a potential for crop protection and off-farm income generation.
Neem's ability to withstand extreme heat and water pollution is well known, as well as its use to improve fertility of the soil and to rehabilitate degraded wastelands.
UNIDO Industrial Development Officer, Dr. Chika Ukwe, said technologies available for pesticide application are often inappropriate due to faulty sprayers, lack of protective equipment adapted to tropical conditions and nonexistent first-aid provisions.
He explained that assistance is, therefore, required to help countries identify and make available cost-effective non-chemical alternatives in the form of Neem-based pesticides. The intention to pave the way for safe, economical, and environmentally-sound approaches of alternative pesticides has been the objective of several initiatives, projects and programmes promoted by UNIDO in the past.
Dr. Ukwe stated that though many plant chemicals have been reported to be suitable for biopesticides, Neem is a viable and tested option from which the bio-pesticides are commercially manufactured, found effective, eco-friendly and acceptable to the farmers.
