The National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), in collaboration with Global Crop Diversity Trust, have begun to improve the use and management of germplasm collections through multi-stakeholder processes.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting with the germ plasm users group members at NACGRAB office, Bagauda community, Kano, the Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Dr. Sunday Aladele, said that the aim of the meeting was to engage farmers on how to boost use and management of germ plasm collections for crops production.
Represented by Chief Scientific Officer of the centre, Mr Mayowa Olubiyi, he explained that the inauguration of the Germ plasm Users Group (GUG) for sorghum, cowpea and other crops, with relevance to climate change, would guide farmers in selecting the right variety for cultivation.
Olubiyi said that the campaign, targeting small-holder farmers in Niger, Kano and Oyo states was aimed at increasing their knowledge about crops that had potential to resist climate change, such as cowpea and sorghum, and to prepare them for quality crop production.
He said that the purpose of the gathering was for NACGRAB to expose the germplasm, that was being stored in gene banks, to farmers.
According to him, the innovative concept for driving developmental activities using participatory approaches was the policy thrust of the Seed for Resilience project (S4R) in Nigeria.
“Also, as a result of this project, the country stood the chance of being able to have varieties that would mitigate climate change. We need varieties and the gene bank has an array of varieties that can mitigate climate change,” he added.
Mayowa, who is also the Technical Assistant to the CEO, called for synergy and strong linkage between farmers and the centre.
He also urged farmers in the country to change their orientation about their traditional seeds varieties, saying that they should not throw seeds, they should conserve them.
Earlier, the crop trust consultant, Dr Eva Weltzien, commended NACGRAB for initiating the project and progress made in engaging users of the germ plasm.
She said that the project would assist the farmers in getting varieties of good quality seeds.
Weltzien said there was need to sensitise farmers on various climate resilient and pest-resistant crops to enable them make good returns from their farming activities and to address the challenge of food insecurity in the country.
One of the participants, Aliyu Kabir, called for proactive measures to assist farmers in understanding the varieties of crops with relevance to climate change resilience in the country.
NAN
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