Institute promises research expansion on irrigation

As part of plans to ensure that farmers enjoy all-year round farming, the Federal Government (FG) through the Institute of Agriculture Research (IAR) has expressed its readiness to invest more in irrigation research infrastructure through more funding. The Executive Director (ED), of the Institute Prof. Mahammed Fagugi Ishiaku told Food Farm News in Zaria, recently.

 Prof. Ishiaku said that the Institute was now ready to invest more in irrigation research infrastructure in order to supplement the rain fed agricultural production towards increased commercial agriculture on the road to national productivity and economic empowerment of the citizens.   

The ED said that “we cannot do without improving and exploiting the potential of irrigation agriculture and this has now inspired us to focus more on irrigation research work that will improve the productivity of our conventional crops during the dry season just as in the rainy season.”

 He noted that the Institute had done very well in the releases of new improved varieties for genetic potential and improvement of crops adding that research should focus more on what will serve more population in terms of food security and job creation along the food value chains in view of increasing urbanization.

The IAR boss stressed that the newly released Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) would help the Institute to plan and also devise  new technologies that would be able to confront the changing pattern of rainfall ‘’ be it too much pattern of rainfall or shorter  rainfall that will come with droughts or either ways.”