The Centre for Dryland Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano has urged the National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) and Global Crop Diversity Trust to expand the scope of their services to major cereals and legumes in the dry land.
The Deputy Director of the Centre, Prof. Sanusi Muhammad made the call during the second meeting of the Kano Technical Working Group on Germplasm Users’ engagement, on Wednesday in Kano.
According to him, the inclusion of groundnut, bambara nut, and millet among other crops facing extinction will boost production.
He commended NACGRAB and Crop Diversity Trust for engaging farmers in the effective management of germplasm collections for crop production.
Muhammad, who is a plant reader with a specialty in legume, cowpea, and sorghum advised NACGRAB to look beyond Crop Diversity Trust for funding, and involve the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) and CDA to enhance the conservation and multiplication of seeds.
The Chief Executive Officer, of NACGRAB, Mr. Sunday Aladele commended Crop Diversity Trust and the Technical Working Group for the progress made in engaging users of germplasm.
Represented by Dr. Abisoye Ojo, Aladele said the project would enhance farmer access to quality seed varieties.
He said the Germplasm Users Group (GUG) for sorghum, cowpea, and other crops, with relevance to climate change, would guide farmers in selecting the right variety for cultivation.
Also, the Chief Scientific Officer of the Centre, Mr. Mayowa Olubiyi said the center was running farmer management nurseries in Oyo, Niger, and Kano States.
He said the farms specifically focused on cowpea and sorghum in different locations among the clusters established to promote Seeds for Resilience projects.
A cross-section of the participants lauded NACGRAB and Crop Diversity Trust for their contributions towards promoting the Seeds for Resilience project.
They appealed to NACGRAB to provide more seeds to farmers for multiplication.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NACGRAB team also inspected nurseries for seed multiplication at Bagauda in the Bebeji Local Government Area of the state.
NAN
