Nigerians have been assured of food sufficiency under the new administration in the country led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The assurance came on Thursday during the 32nd Meeting of the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breed/Fisheries held at NACGRAB Conference Hall, Moor Plantation,Ibadan led by its new Chairman, Professor Soji Olufajo.
The committee unanimously adopted 10 out of 12 crop varieties submitted for registration and release by its sub-technical committee on Tuesday 20th June, 2023 including four wheats( bread wheat and Durum), 2 maize (white and yellow, ARTMAZ and 4 potato (KYAU, BABBAN,JURIYA and one multipurpose variety UNICA).
While speaking at the meeting, the Agronomy for the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN) in partnership with Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Tijani Ahmed said the association released four varieties of wheat to Nigerian farmers.
The varieties which are bread wheat (Borlaug-FMAN and NELOKI-FMAN) with yield potential of up to 7t/ha and maturity between 85-95 days while Durum wheat (Bayoreca-FMAN and Cirno-FMAN) bioscientifically proven with yield potential of 6tonnes per hectares and maturity between 90-95 days.
Ahmed noted that the National Center for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) approved the release at its 36th meeting of Technical Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties held at NACGRAB Moor Plantation, Ibadan, the varieties which would revolutionize wheat production in the country by increasing farmers productivity and at the same time satisfying the quality demand of the milling industry in the country.
“This is the first time a key player in the wheat value chain, the major off taker and processor (FMAN) is championing the release of a variety to support and improve wheat production in the country”
“This new development is aim at promoting local wheat production and reducing wheat import bill of the country saving Nigeria billions of dollars. FMAN wheat development program over the years have cover all aspect along the value chain ranging from outgrower program (Over 4000ha across 7 states) seed production (over 300ha and grant to NASC), research and development (Partnership with LCRI), direct off take at harvest from farmers by setting up over 80 aggregation centers across 13 wheat producing states in Nigeria”, he said.
