Horticulture: Agric Minister vows more support for NIHORT competitiveness

The hope to reposition horticultural development value chains towards competitive agricultural practices for more economic earnings and job creations may seem very feasible as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar has promised more support that will bring about performance and efficient research delivery of National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) to the agricultural sector development in the country.

Agric Minister, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar made this pledge during his working visit to NIHORT, Idi-Ishin, Ibadan, on the 26^th October, 2022.

Abubakar who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary (ES) of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ACRN) Prof. Garba Sharubutu said he would be giving more support to NIHORT in order to ensure effective research delivery of its genetic mandate crops for commercialization through production, processing and marketing, saying he was very impressed with what he saw on display, and promised to give additional support that would make the Institute more competitive in the local and international markets.

For Nigeria to become very competitive in making huge foreign exchange earnings in horticultural crops like Kenya and Netherlands, then NIHORT must be well supported with the state of art equipment that will galvanise research performance and productivity of its mandate crops against genetic losses always occasioned by electricity failure, which one great achievement the Agric Minister has been able to tackle through approval to getting a more dedicated and efficient power supply that is giving 15-16 hours light in the Institute.

The Minister, who acknowledged NIHORT as having the highest crops mandate, however commended the Institute for what he saw in terms of various products being generated through research work, saying more support would be given for increased performance for the competitiveness of the sub sector in food productivity.

 ‘‘I see array of products in the executive director’s office, i did not know you do all these thing, and this is more of the reason why we must support you as we will do more and more

‘‘Just now, i saw an orange tree that will produce three different oranges on one tree, this is amazing, incredible. I am happy that i come here’’ said the minister.

Finally, the minister being supported by the ES, Prof. Sharubutu and Executive Director (ED), Dr. Mohammed Lawal Atanda of ARCN and NIHORT respectively gave to farmers through their Agricultural Development Agencies (ADPs) ‘s directors in the six states of South West comprising Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ondo and Ekiti a new foundational okro seeds for commercial multiplication as part of the Institute’s mandate to food security in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, ED, NIHORT, Dr. Atanda was full of appreciation to the impactful support the Institute has enjoyed from the Federal Government (FG) through the assistance of the Minister, saying the recent employment of researchers, restoration of efficient electricity in the Institute, timely and full release of budget were all the handy work of Dr. Abubarka.

According to him ‘‘this is the first time we are having this opportunity in the last seven years of hosting our Minister, this will go down the memory lane in this Institute that we host our Hon. Minister. The Minister sitting down here has done a lot for us since i came here in the last seven months, and i will only mention three. First, this is the first time we are having hundred percent budget releases under the leadership of our dynamic and pragmatic minister. Secondly, on my resumption to NIHORT in March-April, i discovered we are having less than two hours electricity which is too low to perform our research work. We wrote a letter for more dedicated light, and it was approved, and today we are having 15-16 hours electricity. Also the minister asked us to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and we wrote a letter for the establishment of a seed company which was approved. The Minister also facilitated the presidential waivers that gave us power to employ new researchers to replace the old hands that have left’’

Like Oliver Twist, Dr. Atanda demanded for funding upward review for horticultural research work along the value chains of the mandate crops so as to make Nigeria very competitive with other countries like Kenya, and Netherlands, adding there is need to facilitate the provisions of atomic absorption spectrometer and office accommodations for the staff so as to enhance performance.

He expatiated the Institute’s competency as being able to build capacity for stakeholders along the horticultural value chains of production, processing and marketing, saying the encouragement of this would enhance food security, employment generation, and national economic growth.

Atanda highlighted vegetable seed production along with mushroom, fruits seedlings (pineapples, mango, pawpaw, guava, passion fruits, pear), budded citrus, grafted mango, indigenous fruit and vegetables, amenity horticulture, Fadama vegetable during dry season, local fruit jams and marmalade, natural soup using horticultural waste as areas of capacity building the Institute is training people in order to galvanise the means of livelihood, and create wealth for people.

Other areas of the institute‘s potential according to the NIHORT ED includes a tomato processing technology that made it possible to process into powder and dried slices that may be used to reduce post harvest losses, and checkmate billions of naira being expended annual on import bill, adding that his Institute has come up with bio-pesticides to combat diseases in horticultural crops as these products have enhanced reduction of chemicals being experienced in food consumption.

Also, the ED said that the fruit juice being produced by the Institute is with organic preservatives which implies they were freed of chemicals that are injurious to human health, adding that the incidence of a disease called Tuta absolute infestation on tomato that ravaged farms in some years back has been brought under control through the provision of Tuta Trap Tray to curtail infestation on the tomatoes.

Some other key achievements listed in the ED’s speech includes

i.                     Produced improved varieties of Citrus, Pinepple, Mango, Pawpaw, Banana,African Bush Mango, Avocado, Native Pear, Walnut, African locust bean, African star apple among others

ii.                   Developed numerous value-added products from vegetables, spices, and fruit juice/drinks from citrus, mango, and pineapples.

iii.                  Put up protocol for improved production of planting material of fruits such as Plantain/Banana, and Pineapple developed through Biotechnology.

iv.                 Developed High yielding varieties of Tomato (Lycopersicum lycopersicum), Grain amatanth (Amaranthus cruentus), Leaf amaranth ( Amaranth caudatus), Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius), Egusi melon (Citrulus lanatus) Okro (Abelmoschus esculentus), Pepper (Capsicum annum), Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis).