From Ahmed Abdulkadir , Kano
TAAT develops high-yielding wheat seeds
Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), on Tuesday in Kano commenced the process of developing a robust seed sector for provision of adequate quality wheat seeds that are accessible and affordable to Nigerian Farmers.
Briefing newsmen at the flag-off of a two-day Wheat Training Workshop, in Kano, the Value Chain Specialist at TAAT Clearinghouse, Dr Oluwatoyin Adetunji, said the objective of the workshop, among others is to identify challenges mitigating the Wheat seed sector in Nigeria.
Adetunji lamented that to date, Nigeria imports not less than 95 per cent of wheat in the country, a situation that has been and still draining our foreign exchange, adding that in the not too distant future, following the intensification of research programmes on Wheat, Nigeria will commence the exportation of high quality wheat to other countries.
She enumerated the challenges currently facing TAAT, to include, technology and financing, which she emphasized the workshop is squarely addressing, toward making Nigeria self-sufficient in wheat production, so as to rival Ethiopia and Sudan, that is self-sufficient in Wheat production.
“Wheat is very important and the most commonly consumed globally, as it is used for the production of bread, Macroni, Sphaghetti, masa, Cuscus, and what have you. Following our commitment and determination, we have through intensive research programmes developed heat-tolerant, which can survive in Nigeria.”
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Other objectives of the workshop, include the identification and causes of seed mixtures, along the seed value chain, as well as to identify the missing gaps in the seed development process/
According to her, stakeholders during the workshop will brainstorm through interaction to identify specific problems relating to their organizations, adding that the workshop will
engage in Technical Knowledge sharing on how to develop the seed sector for efficiency and effectiveness.
Also, she noted that the workshop will expand local wheat production for wheat self-sufficiency and national food security.
“TAAT seeks to ensure the growth of the agricultural sector, improve food security, and encourage inclusive growth by involving more women and youth. It also promotes improved resilience to climate variability and shock.”
“The overall goal of TAAT is to improve agriculture, as a business across Africa by deploying agricultural productivity-increasing technologies in priority commodities, such as cassava, wheat, rice, maize, soybeans, sorghum/millet, orange-fleshed sweet potato, high iron beans, aquaculture, vegetables and small livestock.
“TAAT deploys over 100 selected, proven, and high-performance agricultural technologies along the value chains of these commodities. It has over 300 public and private partners, of which the core is its partnership with the CGIAR – the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network and provider of agricultural technologies.
“It has significantly increased productivity in these targeted commodities, accelerating agricultural productivity by a mean of 56.64%, from 15% for small livestock to 113% for High Iron Beans.”
“TAAT technologies for Cassava, Sorghum, Rice, High Iron Beans and Maize have been linked to Feed Africa loans to Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with a total of $3,322,200 committed across these five value chains.”
Similarly, she noted that TAAT is currently accelerating the momentum in addressing transversal issues in African agriculture, as well as improving soil fertility, discovering the untapped potential for improved water management, coordinating and advocating agricultural research initiatives, providing the necessary policy support, attracting African youth in agribusiness, and helping farmers respond to trans-boundary plant pests and diseases, such as Fall Armyworm.
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