Centre for Dryland Agriculture introduces Early Growth Seed Varieties To Farmers

It was aimed at showcasing the newly improved seedlings developed by the centre to farmers and extension workers in Kano state.

According to the Director of the centre, Professor Jibrin Muhammad Jibrin, the new seed varieties are drought resistant and   which if properly used will help Nigeria achieve food sufficiency.

“The seeds are pests and diseases resistant, grow early and lead to bumper harvests.

“If these seed varieties are used, farmers have the potential of yielding bigger harvests in the same lands they are using the traditional seed varieties.

“The groundnut we developed for instance has the dual purpose of more crop yield and bigger leaves that could be used as animal feed,” Professor Jibrin added.

The Director explained that the project is sponsored by Bill and Melinda Foundation and the centre is partnering with Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and other research institutes to achieve the desired result.

He said the centre has already adopted about 22 communities from the university neighborhood as models for testing the new seeds.

Farmers who spoke to Daily Trust expressed their delight with the innovation and promised to adopt it, especially this year that some states in the country are experiencing drought.

CDA is one of the few centres of excellence in agriculture in Africa that is into research, training and teaching of new innovations to farmers and extension workers.