Cactus pads are rich in minerals like calcium, phosphorous and magnesium, and have moderate levels of protein and fibre. You can start harvesting cactus pads one year after planting and harvest pads every 4 months as per your needs. Cactus will give fodder for more than 20 years.

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Green gram or mung bean seed and grains need special care during harvesting and storage. Coat the seed with vegetable oil and store them in an earthen pot. Add neem leaves and dry red chillies. Cover the pot with a cotton cloth and a wire mesh to keep out rodents.

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Bloat is caused by eating too much wet grass during the rainy season. In the stomach, the wet grass ferments and releases gas which becomes like bubbles and cannot escape. It is also caused by a sudden change in diet or by eating overripe or fermented fruit, young sorghum leaves and vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower.

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Too much drought can slow down growth and cause young fruits to fall. Water your okra regularly to avoid slowing down its growth. Get rid of weeds. Nourish okra crops by periodically applying a little compost, well-rotted manure or litter around the base of each okra plant.

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In Benin, producers tell us how to plant okra properly. Put no more than 2 to 3 seeds in each hole and plant at proper spacing to let in air and allow the plants to develop well.

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Dried mango crisps are a tasty and a healthy snack that can be sold even out of season at a good price.

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If proper care is taken at harvest, losses can be minimized, consumers will have better quality fruit, and the farmers will earn more money.

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Coating seed with good microbes and organic fertilizer protects crops from diseases and gives them a healthy start. You can also prepare your own organic solution with cow dung, cow urine, lime, cow milk or yoghurt and water.

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By keeping live barriers with flowers around your fields, you help to protect the wasps and the other good insects. And it is easier to produce quinoa without insecticides while conserving our fertile soil.

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Birds learn quickly and will come back, so regularly change the way you scare birds. All farmers in your community should plant their bean crop within a period of two weeks so that the beans are all growing at the same time, so most of the crop survives. By having banana and flowering plants nearby your fields the birds will less disturb the beans.

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