The Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria said it has just released 23 new crop varieties for planting in Nigeria.
The council has also secured approval of the Federal Government to recruit 1650 scientists to help it with new agricultural research.
The Executive Secretary of ARCN, Garba Sharubutu, who disclosed these during an interactive session with members of the Agricultural Correspondents Association of Nigeria, said the new varieties are not only early maturing, but are resistant to pests and diseases as well as drought.
“We now have four new varieties of maize that are resistant to oops army worm, a major destructive maize disease. They are also quick maturing and resistant to the effects of climate change. We also have new varieties of beans that can resist insects that decrease their productivity.
“We have varieties of tomatoes and Okro that are quick yielding to give us large number of products per hectares and many more,” he said.
Noting that agricultural research is at the centre of all attempts to boost food production, Sharubutu said because of the importance of research in the attainment of food security, the Federal Government approved the recruitment of 1650 scientists to boost the staff strength of agric research institutes in the country.
“We were instructed to recruit breeders, those that will bring about genetic improvement of our local crops,” he said.
On staff welfare, he said the council considers their well-being as a priority as a way of motivating them to boost their productivity.
He added that they have just completed training for the newly recruited scientists whom he said will go back to train others.
“We are working on improving the working environment of our staff. The aim is to help our workers function very well. We have started capacity building for them and that is to build their knowledge and confidence. By three years ago, we had only three PhD holders, but I can tell you that as of today, we have over 15 PhD holders.
“We are also providing working materials for our workers, first in the area of accommodation and the area of tools. As a coordinating body, we should have materials for data generation,” he explained.
