‘Onne IITA, Centre For Banana, Plantain Research ’

The Officer-In-Charge of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Onne High Rainfall Station, Rivers State, Dr Richardson Okechukwu has disclosed that Onne is the centre for banana and plantain research.
Okechukwu, made the disclosure during the visit of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh to the centre as part of the 42nd Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD), held in Port Harcourt, recently.
According to him, the centre established in 1991 is a one hundred hectare facility, adding that it is the first benchmark type in West Africa.
The officer further explained that research breakthrough had been achieved in the station to serve the South-South and South East zones, especially in the area of youth empowerment.
Okechukwu expressed delight with the minister and his directors for the visit, even as he promised that as soon as every expected facility was made available, the minister would formally be invited to visit.
He described the Minister as a key partner to IITA as far back as 2002 when the minister assisted them in the fight against the cassava mosaic disease.
According to him, the scourge threatened the whole of the West African Sub-region then “and it was your voice that alerted the world to notice the disease and today, we have cassava revolution”.
He explained that due to the action of the minister, new varieties of cassava had been identified and Nigeria became an exporter of the crop.
“A lot of things in the cassava value chain were all enhanced because of that singular thing you did”, he said.