Mrs Bose Idowu, an agriprenuer at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, has assured farmers and citizens that producing, preserving beans can be natural without application of sniper.
She made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Ibadan.
Idowu, who is a producer of beans, yam flour, plantain flour and local rice, said that she produced clean beans without preservatives.
“Beans with weevils is an indication that the beans was not preserved with any sniper or chemicals, so people should not be losing interest in buying beans with weevils, they are even the best.
“I buy at the right time when the farmers freshly harvest at the farm, after that I seal it properly in a purse bag developed by some scientists.
“The purse has thick nylon inside and the regular sacks cover outside, once one can properly seal it and store well, it can last for six months to even one year.
“My beans by God’s grace are still one of the cheapest and best in market because I get them directly from the farmers immediately after harvest, they are clean and well stored, ” she said.
Idowu, the Chief Executive Officer of Gracevine Agribusiness Ltd., Ibadan, noted she was trained and empowered through IITA Youth Agriprenuer (IYA) Programme.
“I joined agriprenuer programme in 2012 and was trained on soya bean, maize and cowpea productions, from the token received from IITA then I saved N500, 000 and started my own business.
“Through the support of IITA and partners, the business scaled up, since 2016, I cultivated, produced and packaged no fewer than five hectares of cowpea monthly; now I have a factory to produce and sell cowpea.
“My products are of high quality and the prizes are affordable,” she said.
Idowu, a graduate of Animal Breeding and Genetics, added that her factory could produce 120 tonnes of yam flour in a month, but was limited due to lack of market.
“From the N4 million that I received from IITA and donors, especially the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), I was able to buy all necessary equipment but the major challenge is that we lacked the market.
“Also, the company is still waiting for NAFDAC accreditation having applied for a long time, if they accredit us and there is market, we will meet our capacity which will surely boost food production in Nigeria and Africa at large,” she said.
She, however, maintained that beans could still be produced without preservatives while urging the farmers to follow due process of producing, preserving beans the natural way. (NAN)