Hybrid seeds key to food security, says expert

A Kaduna-based seedlings company – ECOBasic-Seed – has called on farmers to adopt the use of hybrid seeds as foundation grains, saying it will accelerate the country’s drive towards food sufficiency.

The Managing Director of the firm, Brighton Karume, who made the call, disclosed that most Nigerian farmers were into Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV), which he described as counter-productive, slow and time-wasting method, added the country still has a long way to go if it relied on conventional seeds for production of edible food for her citizens.

The head of the seed company, established with support from Bill and Melinda foundation, said Nigeria as the greatest cultivator of farmlands, which he estimated at seven to eight hectares needed to cross over to hybrid seeds of maize, rice and cowpea for robust and bumper harvest for internal consumption and exports.

He listed benefits of hybrids to include; pest tolerance, higher yielding, uniformity in colour and maturity among others.

The agriculture expert decried poor awareness, lack of access to farm implements, storage facilities and modern ways of cultivating land for mass food production.
He reiterated the resolve of the firm to bridge the foundation seed gaps by providing sustainable solutions to challenges encountered by farmers through productive collaboration with research institutes to deliver genetic potentials.

In his submission at the demonstration site, Jaji, Prof. RabiuAdamu, from Institute of Agric Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said more than 80 per cent of Nigerian farmers were on conventional seeds, describing development as sad and worrisome.

“We have enumerated the gains and advantages of using hybrids for maize, rice, cowpea and other edible food production.

“The time is now to ensure our subsistent and commercial farmers graduate from using the open pollination varieties to hybrids, which will guarantee our future and maintain our first place the biggest agro-economy nation in Africa,” he said.

Chairman House Committee on Agriculture, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, reassured farmers of the readiness of the legislature to enact laws that would ensure availability of arable and secured land for farm use.

He said members were aware of security challenges preventing large number of farmers from accessing farmlands, adding that members had already moved to make farmlands more productive.

Source: The Guardian