Nigeria Achieves Breakthrough In Wet-season Wheat Cultivation

Nigeria has recorded a large cultivation breakthrough successful the cultivation of wet-season (rainfed) wheat variety.

The variety, developed by Nigerian scientists astatine the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), marked a caller signifier successful the national government’s pursuit of self-sufficiency successful atom production.

In 2023, the institute released LACRIWHIT-8 (Crow’s) and LACRIWHIT-7 (Reyna15) varieties suitable for wet-season cultivation successful chill and bedewed conditions zones of Plateau, Taraba and Cross River States.

Before the breakthrough, the adust play was the superior play for wheat cultivation successful Nigeria, wherever farmers relied connected dense irrigation to turn the crop.

According to the curate of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, the improvement is to grow the increasing seasons and trim Nigeria’s reliance connected imported wheat.

The curate who announced the breakthrough during the 2nd nationalist rainfed Wheat Farmers’ Field Day successful Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, described the feat arsenic transformative for Nigeria’s nutrient strategy and economy.

Kyari said the climate-resilient rainfed wheat varieties would grow accumulation crossed suitable ecological zones, trim the nation’s wheat import bill, and present beardown fiscal returns to Nigerian farmers.

According to him, “the improvement and palmy cultivation of rainfed wheat successful Kuru is thing abbreviated of transformative. It means that wheat accumulation is nary longer confined to irrigated zones.”

He explained that farmers successful the highlands of Jos, Mambila and Obudu, spanning Plateau, Taraba and Cross River States, tin present cultivate wheat during the rainy play naturally, sustainably and profitably.

“This innovation opens the doorway to a aboriginal wherever Nigeria’s wheat request tin beryllium met by our ain farmers and grown connected our ain soil,” the curate said, adding that the milestone represents “a bold measurement toward achieving nutrient and nutrition information for our large nation.”

In a connection signed by the head, Department of Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, the curate commended the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) for its technological breakthrough successful processing the rainfed wheat varieties, describing it arsenic a testament to Nigerian ingenuity and excellence successful cultivation research.

“The President recognises that nary federation tin beryllium genuinely sovereign unless it tin provender itself, employment its youth, and make prosperity from its land. Agriculture has truthful been elevated from a improvement programme to a statesmanlike priority, driving nutrient security, economical diversification, and inclusive growth,” Kyari said.

The curate highlighted the national government’s broad cultivation renewal plan, which focuses connected mechanisation, improved input access, recognition expansion, post-harvest management, and strategical partnerships to rise productivity crossed worth chains.

Through collaborations with improvement agencies, private-sector investors, and authorities governments, Kyari said the authorities is scaling up rainfed wheat cultivation from aviator fields into hundreds of thousands of hectares nationwide. He noted that the effort would guarantee farmers summation entree to certified seeds, modern mechanisation services and reliable marketplace linkages to marque wheat accumulation profitable and sustainable.

He further outlined cardinal components of the Renewed Hope Agenda successful the cultivation sector, including the deployment of implicit 2,000 tractors and harvesters, affordable financing for farmers and agribusinesses, recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture, and operationalisation of the National Agricultural Development Fund to enactment innovation and agrarian enterprise.