IAR-100yrs: Former Agric Minister wants more research for food system

  * Target 43 new varieties 

As the Institute of Agricultural Research ( IAR), Samaru, Zaria celebrates its 100 years of existence in the Nigerian food system economy, the former Minister of Agriculture, state , and presently the Secretary to the State Government ( SSG) , Bornu state, Alhaji Bukar Tijani has raised concern on why researchers must double their efforts into more improved inputs that will ensure timely harvest in view of growing population and climate change challenges.

Bukar Tijani who was the guest speaker at the IAR- Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Centenary celebration said that the only way Nigeria can achieve Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs 1&2) she had signed is to galvanize improved inputs and technologies into the food production system.

Tijani  expressed fear of Nigeria not being able to achieve SDGs 1&2 in view of our slow technology pace towards food security matters saying that the time has come that policy on agriculture must be ecologically determined for precise result, and that geo- political zoning nomenclature would not add any productivity value to our food system.

While advocating Federal Government (FG)more funds into research to be able to fulfill mandate crops improvement, Tijani also enjoined the Institutes to explore the states, local government, individuals and corporate organizations, pointed that farmers' Association can be co-opted into funding advocacy.

According to him " the declining budgetary allocation for agricultural research poses a critical challenge to the advancement of agricultural research, innovation and productivity in our nation. Adequate funding is imperitive for conducting crucial research, developing sustainable farming practices, and ensuring food security for our growing population. It is essential that we address this issue and prioritize investment in agricultural research to drive meaningful progress in the sector"

He posited the use of modern day technologies for precision agriculture in Nigeria, saying that mechanization, precision agriculture, technology and digital solutions have become very essential to farming practices across the world.

The Bornu SSG stressed the need for career fullfilment of researchers at the research institutes through affiliation with closer university for them to be able to combine research work with teaching to attain professorship cadre of their careers.

This position was in tandem with the earlier submission of the Vice Chancellor (VC) Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Kabir Bala who said  "Let all research Institutes be affiliated with universities and let the universities come and learn how this relationship is sustained symbiotically "

The former Minister however commended the effort of IAR in the agricultural research, technology and innovation saying that " IAR has played a central role in alleviating and minimizing poverty especially in its original mandate in the savanna ecology which covers Nigeria's approximately 600,000 square  kilometres out of 924,000 square kilometres of total land area. This has ensured food security, nutrition for all, and strengthened Nigeria's economic growth and agricultural development at the early stages of its establishment and well into the 70s"

"IAR through its diligent work had played a crucial role in making Nigeria a leading exporter of groundnut for decades. This was achieved through improvements in agronomics practices, post-harvest processing, grading, and ensuring national and international standards with zero to minimum levels of aflatoxin and other undesirable contaminants and debris for export of groundnut across America, Europe and elsewhere in the 60s and 70s" said Tijani.

In his good will message, the Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Prof. Garba Hamidu Sharubutu ably represented by Director of Extension, Prof. Bello Zaki Abubakar said research must align with Mr. President agenda for food security, adding that ARCN will continue to support IAR while he commended the institute for its contribution to best agronomics practices in agriculture with provision of improved inputs technologies to enhance productivity.

The Executive Director ( ED) of IAR, Prof. Mohammad Fuguji Ishiyaku, who happens to be 14th and Centenary director said the Institute is a global household in research and development of technologies that have impacted humanity, saying the target for the next four years is the release of at least 43 new varieties of maize, sorghum, cotton, cowpea , groundnut and sunflower.

Read the full text of his speech below...

ADDRESS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (IAR), PROFESSOR MOHAMMAD FAGUJI ISHIYAKU (FGSN, FBSN) AT THE CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF IAR, HELD AT THE BALARABE TANIMU CONFERENCE HALL, IAR SAMARU ON WEDNESDAY, 4TH OCTOBER 2023.

Protocol

I consider it a rare privilege to stand before you today as the 14th and the Centenary Director of this great institute. Indeed, I am honoured to be the one on the saddle building on the visions and legacies of our forebears who toiled so hard to improve the livelihood of Nigerian farmers through novel research in agriculture. 

With excitement, I warmly welcome you our distinguished guests, to the grand finale of events culminating in the celebrations of 100 years of IAR. The Centenary celebrations began with a series of activities such as the Tree planting Campaign which was flagged off by our amiable Vice Chancellor on Wednesday 13th September 2023. This was followed by sporting events which terminated on Friday 21st September 2023 and the Field Day and Exhibition which held yesterday Tuesday 3rd October 2023. Today marks the grand finale with a public lecture, Book launch and Awards of honour to some staff who distinguished themselves for selfless service to the Institute and the nation.

 IAR is not only a household name in Nigeria but globally when it comes to research and development of technologies that have impacted humanity.

For those of you who may not be privileged to know the antecedents of this great institute, permit me to take you down memory lane on where and how we started to where we are today. 

What is today known as IAR, began as a Department of Agriculture in the 1920s. Colonial authorities required skilled and enlightened manpower to teach and liaise with Nigerian farmers on techniques of modern agriculture which had to do with methods of application of introduced inorganic fertilizers, pest control technologies and introduced crop and livestock species such as Irish potatoes, groundnuts, cotton, cabbage, carrots, improved poultry, high milk and beef yielding cows etc. Thus, the Institute for Agricultural Research, was established in 1922 as the Agricultural Station and Administrative Headquarters of the Department of Agriculture of the then Northern Region of Nigeria. This was located in Maigana, the current Headquarters of Soba Local Government.

Its primary function was to provide training for staff of the Agricultural Department and later the regional Ministry of Agriculture of Northern Nigeria. 

Research in IAR Samaru started formally in 1925 with the establishment of a biology laboratory with a Botanist and a Chemist as researchers. While the Botanist worked on new strains of varieties of different crops, the Chemist worked as a Soil Scientist on the mineral elements needed for plant growth. By 1927, research in IAR was full-fledged with outstanding results of improved crop varieties outyielding indigenous materials.

On 14th October 1962, following the establishment of ABU, IAR was formally transferred by law to Ahmadu Bello University and was affiliated to the University in 1975 in accordance with Statute 14 of the University Act. Here is a case of “the Child becoming the Father of the Man”. The NAPRI and later NAERLS were both created from IAR in the 70s and 80s respectively.

Permit me to quickly state here that research in IAR at the onset in 1962 was carried out in sections and not programmes as we have it today. These sections were Agronomy, Botany, Entomology, Crop Physiology, Chemistry, and Animal Husbandry (at Shika), Soil Survey and Agricultural Engineering. Later the need to bridge the gap between research and extension led to creation of the Extension and Research Liaison Services (ERLS) in 1963.

By 1987, following reorganization of Research Institutes under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, IAR’s initial crop research mandate which covered all crops including vegetable crops such as Irish potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, rice millet, including wheat etc., was restricted to genetic improvement of sorghum, maize, groundnuts, cotton, cowpea, sunflower and later castor and jatropha. Millet and wheat were assigned to Lake Chad Research Institute, (LCRI)Maiduguri, Soybean and rice was assigned to National Cereals Research Institute (LCRI) Baddegi and tomato and Kenaf were transferred to Nigeria Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT) Ibadan.

Distinguished guests to this auspicious occasion, let me reiterate that IAR played pivotal role in the expansion of Nigerian economy through catalysing effect of its research for export of groundnuts, cotton and kenaf in post-colonial era of the early 1960s and 1970s before the era of fossil oil exploration. We continue to play this role even in the current dispensation.

Today, our research output has culminated in the release of over 200 improved crop varieties for agricultural development and improvement of farmers’ lot for enhanced access to food by Nigerians. To this end, IAR has in the last 50 years or so, developed and released improved varieties of 21cowpea, 29 groundnuts, 69 maize, 56 sorghum, 4 sunflower, 17 cotton, 7 millet, 5 wheat, 12 tomato, 3 soybean, 2 sesame and 2 oats from inception to date. The outcome of these releases of these new varieties has been steady and sustainable increase in the productivity of those crops on farmers’ fields. For example, we in the last 40 years, national potential yield of maize has increased from less than 2t/ha to up to 9t/ha, sorghum from less than 1t/ha to 2.5t/ha, Cowpea 0.5t/ha to 2.7t/ha, similarly for groundnut and cotton. We call on governments, especially, States, to invigorate efforts to disseminate these varieties to farmers and implement policies that support access to good quality seeds and other inputs by farmers, lest most of these potentially wealth creating technologies remain in the hands of only few privileged individuals with negative consequences nationally.

Our target in the next four years is to release at least 43 new farmer and consumer preferred crop varieties of Maize, Sorghum, Cotton, Cowpea, Groundnut and Sunflower in the following order 11 for 2024, 11 in 2025, 9 in 2026 and 12 in 2027. This is our dream, and we will continue to work assiduously to achieve it. 

Suffice to say that some of our technologies have traversed beyond Nigerian borders to the West and Central Africa sub-regions. For instance, across Niger, Mali and Cameroon our groundnut and cowpea varieties are widely grown by farmers in those countries. This has greatly impacted their livelihoods and improved their standard of living, thus curbing issues of transborder clashes and stemming the tide of insecurity. There is no greater weapon to fight insecurity than putting food on the table of the poor and hungry populace. It is therefore my humble plea that we continue to generate research that has direct relevance with our immediate communities who should be the first beneficiaries of our technologies. Our other technologies include improved Irrigation approaches for economising water in dry season production as well as selection of suitable crops and their varieties for irrigation. We are also investing in research to develop new food products suitable for today’s consumer preferences.

The theme for our Centenary celebrations is “Celebrating a Century of Agricultural Innovation in Nigeria”, is indeed not just a hype but the reality of strenuous labour spanning over a hundred years to ensure we change the narratives and improve our standard of living through adequate development and provision of practical solutions to human problems. We are at the verge of releasing new varieties of castor, artemisia and jatropha, as well as developing farmer- friendly technologies for the production and utilization of these crops. 

In a bid to meet set targets for us by the Federal Government as well as expectations of teeming farming communities nationwide, we have been developing and releasing almost on yearly basis, new crop varieties of our mandate crops to suit different ecologies, bearing in mind the changing climatic conditions. 

All of these achievements recorded in the past century, no doubt materialised as a result of support by Government. However, even with government support, without the untiring commitment and hard work of our staff, these would not have happened. I want to thank all our staff both the living and the departed for their contributions. 

We remain thankful to our numerous partners whose veritable capacities we leveraged to supplement our strength as we discharge our responsibility of turning around the fortunes of our people in the past century. The partnership of IAR with farmers, the local government system, the Ministries of Agriculture, sister NARIs, AFAN, Commodity associations, NGOs such as SG2000 and AATF, the CGIAR system, especially IITA, ICRISAT and CIMMYT; international donor agencies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the Gates Ag One, DFID and many others, has been very impactful and well appreciated.

Our current drive is to continue with developing drought tolerant, flood resilient and nutrition varieties, to mitigate effects of climate change and nutrition security among Nigerians. We are working assiduously together with our collaborators to put in the hands of Nigerian farmers crop varieties that can withstand or tolerate flood to minimize losses often experienced in the face of flash floods across the country as well as those that can tolerate the other extreme conditions- drought and extreme heat. With your support we shall attain this feat in no distant time.

Once again, on behalf of IAR Management, I warmly welcome you to the IAR CENTENARY CELEBRATION.

Thank you for your attention and God bless our efforts.