As part of the efforts to boost food production and achieve food security in the country, the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), says it has just released 23 new crop varieties for planting in Nigeria.
The council has also with the approval of the Federal government, recruited 1650 scientists to help it with new agricultural researches.
The Executive Secretary of ARCN, Prof. Garba Sharubutu who disclosed this during an interactive session with members of the Agricultural Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ACAN), said the new varieties are not only early maturing, but are resistant to to pests and diseases as well as draught.
According too him, “We now have four new varieties of maize that are resistant to oops army worm, a major destructive maize disease. They are also quick maturing and resistant too oops the effects of climate change. We also have new varieties of beans that can resist insects that decrease their productivity.
“We have varieties of tomatoes and Okro, that are quick yielding to give us large number of products per hectares and many more.
Noting that Agricultural research is at the centre of all attempts to boost food production, Prof Sharubutu said because of the importance of research in the attainment of food security, the Federal Government approved the recruitment of 1650 scientists to boost the staff strengthen of agric research institutes in the country. “We were instructed to recruit breeders, those that will bring about genetic improvement of our local crops,” he said.
He also informed that council has just completed training for the newly recruited scientist whom he said will go back to train others.
Sharubutu also noted that the welfare of the workers was at the core of its strategy to boost productivity.
According to him, “We are working on improving the working environment of our staff. The aim is the help our workers function very well. We have stated capacity building for them and that is to build their knowledge and confidence. By three years ago, we had only three PhD holders, but I can tell you that as at today, we have over 15 PhD holders.
“We are also providing working materials for our workers, first in the area of accommodation and the area of tools. As a Coordinating body, we should have materials for data generation.
He called on ACAN members to support the council by not only reporting research results, but also informing people of where those researches are domiciled and how farmers can access the products of the research so that they can take advantage of them.