Committee Releases Crop Varieties To Farmers

The National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties has approved the release of seven new varieties of high yielding crops to Nigerian farmers.

The Acting Registrar, National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Dr Sunday Aladele, announced this in a statement issued in Lagos recently.

The statement, made available to newsmen said the formal release of the crops took place in Ibadan at NACGRAB by the committee’s Chairman, Chief Oladosu Awoyemi, during the 9th meeting of the National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC).

According to the statement, the Chairman Technical Sub-Committee (TSC) on Crops, Prof Olusoji Olufajo,gave further details by listing the seven crop varieties as one Pearl millet (LCICMV-4) and one Maize (Summaz 40), three rice varieties (UPIA 1, UPIA 2 and UPIA 3) and two groundnut varieties (SAMNUT 25 and SAMNUT 26).

Olufajo, who addressed the meeting of mostly agricultural scientists, explained that the seven varieties were approved out of a total of 10 crop varieties submitted to his sub-commitee for approval.

According to the statement, the pearl millet was recommended for release based on its “extra early maturity, stay green quality and high ash content”.

The maize was recommended based on its high yield potential, tolerance to drought and the pest “striga hermonthica” and resistance to lodging.

“The rice variety UPIA 1 was recommended for release based on early maturity, high yield, long slender grains as well as tolerance to iron toxicity and African rice gall midge.

“The variety UPIA 2 was recommended for release based on high yield, long slender grains, tolerance to iron toxicity and African rice gall midge.

“The variety UPIA 3 was recommended for release based on early maturity, high yield, long slender grains and tolerance to iron toxicity, “ the statement explained.

It said the two groundnut varieties, SAMNUT 25 and SAMNUT 26 were recommended for release based on high resistance to rosette, moderate resistance to aphids, high yield and early maturity.

It further said that the pearl millet was developed by the Lake Chad Research Institute and Niamey-based International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).