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Protocol:
1. It is a rare privilege and honour for me to stand to address this distinguished audience and to witness another Opening Ceremony of the Annual Research Review and Planning Meeting of the almost a century old IAR. Last year, this event could not hold owing to the dreaded corona virus (COVID- 19) pandemic, which began with a partial to total lockdown of activities in the country and globally.
Incompliance with government directives and our desire to safeguard our teeming partners and stakeholders from unnecessary exposure to risks, we deemed it fit to put on hold this important activity in 2020.2.
This
year by sheer benevolence of the Almighty, we are gathered in this square to
discuss and chart a new course for our national agricultural development as
well as rub minds with our stakeholders on burning issues affecting the
agricultural sector. With the calibre of participants in this year’s Annual Research
Review and Planning Meeting, we are poised to achieve the agenda of Mr.
President for revamping agriculture and the national economy. With the right
attitude we shall succeed. Like Thomas Jefferson, America’s 3rd
President once said,“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude
from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong
mental attitude”.
3.
Our
attitude both as Scientists and as Nigerians will determine our altitude in the
future. We have made giant strides in the past through sheer hard work and
commitment, we have refused to be distracted by our detractors whose common
goal is to see us fail as anation. But with the right attitude, IAR and indeed
ABU, has remained at the pinnacle of churning out research outputs for the
common good of humanity. This remains our focus and our dream, to put food on
the table of every Nigerian.
4. The year
2020, was a difficult year around the globe with the advent of the corona virus
(COVID-19) pandemic which not only affected agriculture, health and economy but
all sectors of life. Despite the pandemic and its ravaging effects, we at IAR
made steady strides in our research and development projects. In the year under
review, we worked assiduously and released five (5) improved varieties of maize
SAMMAZ 59 and SAMMAZ 60 (with high level of provitamin A greater than the
recommended 15μg g-1and
average yield of6tha-1), SAMMAZ 61(drought andstriga tolerant),
SAMMAZ 62and SAMMAZ 63 (all with average yield of 8 tha-1). Two (2)
sweet sorghum varieties SAMSORG 50SW and SAMSORG 51SW with high sugar content
like sugarcane for biofuel and other sugar related industrial uses were also
released. In addition, the institute also released two (2) hybrid cotton
varieties, C567 and C571 with potential yield of over 4 t ha-1 and
resistance to bollworm.
5. Already,
the PBR cowpea SAMPEA 20T which was released in 2019 is currently in the hands
of our farmers whose testimonies show appreciable preference for the variety
because of its yield performance and reduced use of harmful spray insecticides
over other cowpea materials during the last growing season. Additional crosses were
made in 2020 through introgression of Bt transgene into more cowpea varieties and
we are optimistic of releasing more varieties with similar traits in the coming
years.
6. The
Institute’s contribution towards sustainable soil health has focused on the
development of integrated soil fertility management strategies through
judicious use of mineral, organic and bio-fertilizers. At least five elite
strains of rhizobium capable of fixing over 50 kg N ha-1 in cowpea
and groundnut are being maintained in the Soil Microbiology Unit of the
Institute. The strains have the potential of being developed into commercial
inoculants capable of reducing the use of expensive nitrogenous fertilizer in
our cropping system. Similarly, our research farm crop residues are no longer
available to the public but are processed into compost or incorporated into the
fields to enhance soil organic matter content.
7. The
breeding programme of the Institute was invigorated last year. 500 inbred lines and 650
hybrids were developed and evaluated on-station while 25 elite hybrids were
evaluated at 10 locations across Nigeria. By the end of 2021 we anticipate that
2 to 3 of these hybrids capable of producing over 10 t ha-1 will be registered
and released. In a similar vein, 400 cowpeagermplasm were maintained at IAR
farm during 2020 cropping season and their grain yield ranged from 56 to 1, 632
kg/ha. A total of 12,000 single plants representing 10 families (targeting high
yield, tolerance to striga, pod borer insect, aphid resistant etc) were
advanced from F2 to F3; F3 to F4. The biotechnology research programme of the
institute has developed and perfected protocols for rapid micro-propagation of
large-scale production of sugarcane, pineapple and ginger and cryopreservation
of groundnut.
8.
In terms of value addition, our Product
Development Research Programme has come up with flakes (kanzo) from our mandate
crops with variety in taste, spicing and colour. This is to improve the
nutritional quality of our diets from snacks obtained from locally and easily
available food products. We are working on obtaining NAFDAC registration for
commercial production of this novel product.
9.
To curtail drudgery in agricultural field operations, the Agricultural
Mechanization Research Programme developed and fabricated assorted threshers
for maize, sorghum, soybean, rice and cowpea.
Groundnut sheller, grain cleaning and grading machines, Solar powered
Knapsack sprayers, Groundnut press and oil extractor, Rice hydro-cleaner and
Par boilers, Ginger slicer, Crop stalk crusher, Onion dryers, Silos and many
animal drawn implements are available on request by stakeholders.
10.
IAR has an unmatching expertise in irrigation science and
engineering, which can be used to intensify agricultural production in the
country for food and raw materials for local industry and export. To expand our
irrigation infrastructure and improve irrigation related researches, the
institute has reached out to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for
donation of irrigable land at Kadawa and Talata Mafara in Kano and Zamfara
State respectively. If this is achieved, the institute will develop improved varieties
that are targeted towards off-season production with efficient management of
irrigation water.
11.
The recent wake-up call on the Bill for national
Agricultural Development Fund by the Nigerian Senate, is a welcome development
in the right direction. When passed into law, the fund aside providing finance
for agricultural development, will also empower Agricultural Research
Institutes like ours to promote transition from subsistence farming as is currently
done to modern agriculture, deploying the tools of modern technology to enhance
food production and sustainable food
security in the country. We therefore call for speedy passage of this bill for
the common good of the Nigerian farmer.
12. Permit me
the Chairman to reiterate here that between 1999 and 2020, Nigeria produced more maize than it did at
independence. According to data from the United States Department for
Agriculture (USDA),the country's maize production figures in the last five years were the highest
ever. Production rose from 10.1 million metric tonnes in 2014 to 11.6 million metric tonnes in 2016, and by 2017, the
figure fell to 10.4million metric tonnes, before surging to 11.0 million metric tonnes in 2018 and in 2019, and steadily rose to 11.5 million metric tonnesin 2020.
13. Good as
this appears, we as a nation need to double our production capacity to meet
both local demand and for export. As one of the research institutes saddled
with the responsibility of genetic improvement of maize in the country, we are
ever ready to live up to our name. The Institute has so far released the
highest number of improved varieties numbering 63 including hybrids and open
pollinated. Our Scientists will continue to work round the clock to release
more varieties for varied ecologies with multiple options for farmers.
14. Although
the Institute has myriads of research projects, we had to reprioritize research
activities in 2020 for optimum results within the limited funds available. To
this end a total of 72 research projects were undertaken and I am glad to
report here that those streamlined research activities have produced some of
the wonderful results we will be discussing at plenary sessions.In the review of our
production recommendations, we found that reducing plant spacing to 10 cm from
the usual 23cm and application of 50kg NPK 20:10:10 ha-1 and 150kg
SSP ha-1 gave the highest pod and haulm yields of groundnut. Similar
review was made for maize, sorghum and cotton recommendation
15. Let me
enjoin participants and our distinguished guests here present, to please offer
meaningful contributions that will enhance our research focus in order to serve
you better.
16. I want to
thank the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kabir Balafor prodding and challenging us
to bring out people friendly research products and for the unflinching support.
17. Thank you
Your Excellences, The Executive Governors of Kebbi, Kano
and Nasarawa States, for granting us audience and making us to be of great service
to the people of Kebbi, Kano and NasarawaStates. We appreciate your friendly
disposition and kind gesture of being farmers friendly Chief Executives. We
hope for greater collaboration and improved agricultural production in your
States.
18. To our distinguished
Lawmakers at the National Assembly, our prayer is to see speedy passage of more
bills favourable for agricultural practice in our dear nation and we welcome
new ideas and suggestions to improve on our service delivery.
19. Our
friends, gentlemen of the Media, we thank you for partnering with us in
disseminating research results to the public. We look forward to more
partnership for community service.
20. I wish us
fruitful deliberations throughout the 2021 Annual Research Review and Planning
Meeting.
21. Thank
you.
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