Release of 2 Durum wheat varieties will enhance productivity

·       checkmate 400million dollars import

The Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) has presented two (DURUM) wheat varieties namely MBA-MAJA and ALTAR-84 as LACRIWHIT 12D and LACRIWHIT 13D respectively for registration and release for farmers’ cultivation to enhance the productivity of semolina and other pasta as food consumptions .

Presenting the two candidates at the 33^rd meeting of the Technical Sub Committee on Crop varieties for naming, registration and release, the lead breeder Dr. Turaki Zarari said this is the first time this particular wheat variety would be released in Nigeria for more economic benefits for stakeholders in view of huge import bills gulping our foreign currencies.

Zakari described the two Durum wheat as having nutritional profiles with dough elasticity, extensibility and fermentability in much better ways than bread wheat, adding that the demand for this particular variety is rapidly increasing in Nigeria due to high consumption of semolina and fast foods such as pasta like macaroni, spaghetti and couscous.

He stressed further that Nigerians need to harness the potential in these two varieties to checkmate annual import being expended running to millions of dollars annually for fast foods producers as most big industries are in dear need of the durum flour to make pasta and the likes for daily consumption by high percentage of people in the country.

Also speaking on the aims why the two varieties are being presented for the national release, Dr. Maryam Abba  Dawud, a breeder from LCRI said that the Nigerian government is spending over 400 million dollars yearly on wheat importation that must be checkmated with these new improved entries as they would be made available to farmers for increased cultivations to ensure food security and sovereignty in the country, adding that the increasing demand for fast foods in Nigeria has also necessitated the Institute to come up with the improved technology.

Dr. Dawud said that ‘’we look at the benefit before we release it for the public use especially its competitive advantages over those varieties already on ground in the hands of farmers. And if there is none, then there will be no reason for any release. These two candidates that we are intending to release have higher grain yield than the materials on ground, they also have higher quality in terms of flour for making noodles that half of the population of  Nigerians eat be you adult or youth’’

She added that ‘’ for us to release this, we are aiming at achieving food security through accessibility, availability and affordability. For food sovereignty, we are talking about stopping wheat import since we are already growing sufficient quantities to checkmate 400 million dollars we annually spend on wheat import into Nigeria’’

 Another breeder from the same Institute, Dr. Kachalla Kyari Mala pointed that the two publicly bred varieties are called durum wheat for their unique flour hardness to produce semolina and pasta-like noodles adding this was the first time this particular variety will be released into the hands of farmers by the time the final approval is given by next year sometimes in January, adding this is a very good step in the history of wheat development in Nigeria.