PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012
PAGE 28
Agric Research: ABU releases 37 varieties of improved maize, other crops T By Mohammed Kandi
he expedition of the Nigerian government and farmers towards achieving self sufficiency in food production, as well as food security in the country has received a major boost as researchers at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Amadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state have developed and released copious improved crop varieties. This followed the global prominence which is currently directed to the genetically modified crops that are bred from some highly sophisticated laboratory procedures, making them high disease resistant, high yield potential with the quality to mature early. Some of the important varieties that have been developed and released to farmers, according to the institute’s Deputy Director, Prof. Ezra Amans stated, include “9 varieties of cowpea for different ecologies, 13 cotton varieties, 23 varieties of groundnut, 14 maize varieties and 45 sorghum varieties suitable for Sahel, Sudan and Guinea ecologies.” Amans therefore informed a group of journalist who visited the institute that, IAR had an aged-long reputation of partnering other research organization in the development of a few crops in the past. He said: “IAR has developed some crops in collaboration with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)’ seven varieties including millet, eight varieties of wheat in collaboration with the International Centre for Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT), tomato (7 fresh market, nine processing and four heat tolerant varieties), onions, pepper, grape vine and kenaf varieties.” Similarly, information obtained from the institute’s brochure states that, “Nine varieties of cowpea for different ecologies have been developed and released for production. The most popular are SAMPEA 6 and SAMPEA 7 with yield potential of 2.5t per hectare and resistant to many stress factors.” “SAMPEA 6 is one of the parents of the American black eye beans. SAMPEA 8 is extra-early in maturity while SAMPEA 9 is dual purpose (high grain and fodder yield). Many of the cowpea in most Nigerian households is our products. SAMPEA 8 and SAMPEA 9 have been developed in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA. “The institute had released about 14 varieties of maize to farmers in different ecological zones across the country. Of the newly released varieties, SAMMAZ 11 is Striga hermonthica resistant, while SAMMAZ 12 and SAMMAZ 13 are extra-early white and yellow grains respectively. SAMMAZ 14 is equally protein maize, which has higher levels of lysine and tryptophan, the two limiting essential amino acids in maize. A lot of the maize consumed in every house in Nigeria in one form
One of the participants at the recent media tour organised by Bio Sciences for Farming in Africa to the Institute for Agricultural Research, at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria or the other is a product of IAR in collaboration with IITA and other national research institutes,” it said. On sorghum, the report said, researchers at the institute, in collaboration with ICRISAT, have developed at least 45 sorghum varieties, which are suitable for Sahel, Sudan and Guinea savanna ecologies. The crops have also been released to farmers across the country. “Among the most prominent ones are SAMSORG 17 and
SAMSORG 40 which are suitable for malt production. Nigerian Breweries have since been using these varieties as substitute to barley from which the bulk of foreign exchange needed to import barley is conserved. On the release of cotton varieties, the report states: “Thirteen cotton varieties have been developed and released to cotton farmers in Nigeria. SAMCOT 11, SAMCOTT 12, and SAMCOTT 13 are the latest varieties released. They are long staple and resistant to alternaria leaf spots and
bacterial blight. “Our cotton varieties supply raw materials to the numerous textile industries and oil mills across the country. The new long staple varieties can be used as substitute to imported long staple fibres thereby conserving our foreign exchange,” it explained. In the latest study on groundnut, according to the catalog, twentythree varieties have been developed in collaboration with the ICRISAT and released to farmers in different
A laboratory at the Institute for Agricultural Research, at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria
ecologies. The most popular ones are the rosette and drought resistant varieties. The latest released are the extra-early and the dual purpose type. “Our groundnut supply most of the cooking oil used in Nigerian households and most of the cake to livestock feed industries,” the report stressed. Apparently, this outstanding effort by the various research institutes in the country became a reality with the support of some international research organizations that have found the need for Nigeria in particular and Africa at large to key-in and contribute towards the attainment of global food security highly important. A plant breeder at the institute, Usman Alhassan, stressed the need for the Nigerian government to scale up its budgetary allocation the agriculture sector in line with the Maputo declaration on agriculture and food security, which advocates at least 10 percent national budget allocation to agriculture development. The plant breeder said until governments stop playing politics with agriculture by financing the sector properly, Nigeria and Africa might miss out of the gigantic effort directed at achieving global food security as in the green revolution. Alhassan also informed that Nigerian farmers have since adopted the use of the genetic modified (GM) crops hence, urging the government to ensure the speedy passage into law the bill that would facilitate the process of agricultural transformation in Nigeria.