By Faridat Salifu
Agricultural stakeholders have called for wider adoption of modern breeding innovations to help Nigeria raise crop productivity, withstand climate pressures and strengthen food security.
The call was made on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at the 4th International Conference of the Nigerian Plant Breeders’ Association (NPBA) in Abuja.
The two-day conference, which began on Wednesday, was themed “Leveraging Breeding Innovations and Strategic Partnerships for Agribusiness Investment, Stable Supply Chain and National Food Security in a Changing Climate.”
President of the NPBA, Prof. Victor Adetimirin, said the conference addressed critical challenges facing agriculture, including climate change, food security and unstable supply chains.
Stakeholders said climate shocks, pest outbreaks and rapid population growth were putting increasing pressure on conventional farming systems, making improved crop varieties important to the country’s agricultural transformation.
They stressed that scientific advances in plant breeding would have greater impact when innovations move beyond research institutions and become accessible to farmers across the country.
They also called for stronger partnerships between breeders, researchers, farmers, investors and other actors in the agricultural value chain to accelerate deployment of improved technologies.
According to them, wider access to breeding innovations could help farmers produce crops better suited to changing climatic conditions while improving yields and strengthening the reliability of food supply chains.
