Dogonyaro (Azadiractin indica) or neem is widely known in Nigeria and has traditionally been used as a herbal remedy for malaria. However, its cash spinning potential is slowly being realised as the world watches India continue to roll out products ranging from contraceptives to anti-diabetic drugs annually and raking in a tidy income, aside from the employment benefits it provides for the populace.
The journey to scientific documentation and knowledge sharing on Neem resources began when Prof. H. Schmutterer, a German scientist working in Sudan during an outbreak of locusts in the region in the late 1950s observed that the locusts did not defoliate the Neem trees as they did the other plants.
He later went to work to discover the secrets of Neem’s pesticidal properties. Curiously, it has its uncanny way of distinguishing between harmful and beneficial insects. Athough its activities cover well over 450 known insect pests and nematodes, it does not harm animals and beneficial insects such as honeybees.
It does not pollute underground water or the atmosphere like the inorganic pesticides. In fact, it has been found to be a valuable medicinal component in the formulation of poultry and animal feeds.
Small-scale Neem-based biopesticide plants can be established across the country to reduce cost of fertilisers and pesticides.
Madagascar women use it for skin care. Knowledge of its spermicidal properties is also widespread there as women also use it for birth control.
Latin American ranch people bottle feed their calves with Neem seed extracts to de-worm them; a remedy which they say is highly effective and affordable.
In Central Sudan, farmers place crushed Neem leaves on their water melon farms to protect the fruits from field rats.
Neem- based toothpastes and cosmetics products can be found in Europe and America where this tree plant has no hope of survival; yet, we have little knowledge of it here, where it has chosen to thrive patiently until we rediscover its value.
Neem contributes more than $2bn/annum to the Indian economy and could do more in West Africa where the concentration of the active ingredients has been found to be about three times higher than what obtains in India.
Dr. D.D. Faye, a Senegalese entomologist at the 2002 World Neem Conference in Mumbai, says, “I keep telling my people that they are sitting on a goldmine. In fact, propagation of Neem is a big part of our malaria control project. Simple usage of Neem oil or even using Neem products on mosquito nets, instead of harmful chemicals, is not only safer but so much cheaper.”
The Neem movement in India is growing as more professionals in the fields of agriculture, environment and health are daily enlisting as promoters of Neem’s influence as the economic tree of the future.
Ongoing research into the debitterisation of the seed cake will provide an inexpensive, highly nutritious pro-biotic feed for livestock.
According to a research report by NOTAP’s Director-General, Dr. Danazumi Ibrahim, in 2004, Neem tree has tremendous investment potential waiting to be tapped; judging from its wide applications.
It said, “The private sector has a lot of benefits to derive from Neem-based investments, especially in the production of Neem oil – first because the raw materials are readily available and the technology for extraction of the oil is simple and locally available.”
Application of Neem products to soil, especially the seed cake, have also been shown to increase its fertility through provision of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and a few micronutrients.
There are millions of Neem trees in different parts of the country. Some of them are even used for landscaping while the fruits waste. The seeds are constantly seen on the floor of shelter belt areas waiting to be picked. It is therefore a natural resource begging to be tapped.
By-products of oil extraction also attract good value in the marketplace. The kernel can be supplied to manufacturers of Neem biopesticide; an investor may either export the oil, supply to relevant industry, or utilise it for the manufacture of cosmetic products while the cake may be supplied to fertiliser blending companies.
It is time to join the Neem movement!!!
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