Agric show: things get worst in 11 yrs

• IAR, NCAM speak

Agric show venue

Visit to Tudun Wada, Keffi ,Nazarawa state, venue of the 2018 Agricultural Show and World Food Day, Nigeria shows a very low turnout of participants from both private and public sectors as many of the facilities left behind the previous year have been vandalized by hoodlums thereby making the cost of holding the event very expensive after eleven years of existence according to Food Farm News finding.

As at the time of arrival at the venue around 12 pm, very few participants are seen already on ground. Among them are Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Samaru, Zaria and the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) Ilorin (NCAM) who are found putting their structures in place as they spoke with foodfarmnews on some of their achievements and challenges.
Also a source told us that majority of the facilities left behind in the complex last year have been vandalized, stating that the barb-wires used to fence the event venue were all carted away, while the generator powering the entire place had also been stolen, with the electrical wires and water pipes all stolen leaving the organizers with no choice than spending more on repairs and replacement of the facilities.

 Professor Aminu Muhammad, the head, monitoring and evaluation unit, IARsaid that his institute has been responsive on the issue of improved varieties release such as soyabeans, samsoy-1, samsoy-2, sunflower, samsun-1 and samsun-2, groundnut, samnut-23, 3 varieties of bt cotton and samnut 22,sammaz 17,14,50 and 52 with  10 to 11 tons per hectare yield among others have been released. Also some are undergoing evaluation by the national variety committee on naming and registration.
Muhammad added that the lack of fund has halted the Institute from progressing; he pleaded the Federal Government to look into the issue of funding for better performance to meeting the need of farmers.

Also the fund challenges did not spare the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) Ilorin who out of the meagre capital project fund has been able to acquire modern machines towards enhanced finishing of the centre’s products or what many term as aesthesis adding that the embargo placed on training workers abroad has hindered the use of the newly acquired machines towards ensuring good finishing as demanded by our off takers.

Engineer Isaac Ozumba however appealed that the ban be lifted so as to give room for proper international training of these workers in relevant areas that will add value to the finishing of machines locally produced by the centre.