Nobody talks about flies when they talk about pig farming. They talk about feed conversion, breed selection, disease management, and market prices. Flies get mentioned as an afterthought, if at all, usually in the context of general farm hygiene rather than as a serious production problem in their own right. That is a mistake. On … Read more
Here is something most African farmers know but rarely say out loud. The hardest part of farming is not planting season. It is not the weeding, the pest control, or the unpredictable rainfall. The hardest part is watching grain you worked an entire season to produce disappear in storage before you can sell it or … Read more
Walk into any agro-dealer in Nigeria or Ghana and ask for something to protect your stored grain. You will almost certainly be handed a sachet of pirimiphos-methyl dust and told to mix it into your bags before sealing them. That advice is not wrong. But it is incomplete. Chemical grain protectant is one option. Hermetic … Read more
You worked the whole season for that maize. You planted on time, managed the pests in the field, harvested at the right moisture, and stacked the bags in your store with a sense of satisfaction that only a farmer who has been through the full cycle understands. Three months later you open the store and … Read more
Fumigation is the most misunderstood grain protection practice in African farming. Some farmers avoid it entirely because they have heard it is dangerous and do not know enough about it to feel confident using it safely. Others use it carelessly, without protective equipment, without proper sealing, without understanding what the gas they are releasing actually … Read more
Internal Parasites in Goats: Signs, Treatment, and How to Stay Ahead of Them Ask any experienced goat farmer in Nigeria what kills more goats than any disease, any predator, or any management mistake and the answer you will hear most consistently is worms. Not dramatic sudden death. Not a visible outbreak that sends you running … Read more
If you own cattle in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, or South Africa, there is a good chance ticks are on your animals right now. Not maybe. Not possibly. Right now, as you read this, ticks are feeding on your cattle, laying eggs in your grazing land, and setting up the next generation of infestation that will … Read more
A poultry farmer in Enugu noticed her layers dropping egg production gradually over three weeks. She assumed it was a feed issue and switched to a more expensive feed. Production continued dropping. She treated for Newcastle disease. Still no improvement. It was only when she inspected her birds closely at night with a torch that … Read more