DAILY TRUST, 05 APRIL, 2011

Page 1

DAILY TRUST

Tuesday, AprilS, 2011

23

Business/Agric

'We have a made-in-Nigeria"potato' .

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SCIENTISTS at the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Abia State say they have developed a new sweet potato variety that is rich in vitamin A. Dr.Jude C. Njoku is the head of the substation ofNRCRI in Nyanya, Abuja. He speaks on the benefits of the Orange fleshed potato to human health and the economy. By TIna A. Hassan CAN you explain the difference between the orange fleshed potato and other varieties? THE orange fleshed sweet potato variety is just like any other sweet potato; the major difference is that it is weU fortified with vitamin A which is a basic food requirement in safeguarding the health of children, pregnant women and other health challenges. [t has an orange colour just like that of the carrot and this has given it the ability to have high quantity of beta carotene which is the precursor for vitamin A. Vitamin A is not just found like that in the body but it is gotten from the consumption of high beta carotene foods which then converts it to vitamin A.

Why the focus on boosting vitamin A content instead of

other vitamins? Deficiency in vitamin A can

lead to a lot of health hazard such as blindness in children under school age, complications in pregnant women and predisposition to other diseases espeCially in children. We currently have defiCiency of vitamin A in children espeCially the children of the poor who are mostly farmers. It is not easy to access the vitamin A tablets in the markets because they are very expensive and most of these farmers cannot afford it so with this improvement on sweet potato, the farmer can

easily and cheaply have access to vitamill A for the whole family in addition to the money that can be generated from the sale of the crop. That is why we are promoting the fortification of this essential vitamin through our improved potato variety. What advantages do the variety have over others? The ordinary potato specie does not have beta carotene, it is

mostly white fleshed and is basically rich in carbohydrate unlike the orange fleshed potato which has both advantages of carbohydrate and beta carotene and the health implication is that the vitamin A nutritional requirement of the average child would be met whose parent might not be able to afford other expensive food rich in vitamin A. It has less sugar and high yield What is the gestation period? Orange fleshed falls between . the medium and early maturing variety depending on the selection of the breeder. Different varieties of potato have different gestation period of Iate maturing (12 months), medium (16 weeks) and the short term (12 weeks). This also means that they come into the market earlier than other varieties and this commands a higher market price. Are there any specific physical . features that can be used to iden-

tify the orange fleshed potato? Yes like [said earlier, it is orange in colour; the essential quality is the beta carotene content in it How can farmers access the vine of this improved variety? Presently, we have been working with some farmer groups such as the Potato farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN) which has been very active in promoting the variety among its members. We have also extended our services to the potato Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (POGMAN) but we are not hearing much from them. We have done a numberoffarm trials in six locations in Nasarawa State last year on the farms of farm ers so that thev can lookat thevariety and its qualities they may desire and decide if they like it or not and also compare it with the advantages of their local variety. In terms of vine multiplica-

orange fleshed potato and different recipes of the potato at the Eagle Square some time back. Would you advice farmers to adopt this variety, looking at the advantages? Our intention is not to wipe out other varieties of potato because farmers ca!! use them for other local recipes because some of them are very sugary in nature but we are promoting this variety because it has a better input to human nutrition and the health, growth and development of children below the age of five as well as nursing mothers. It is very necessary that farmers should adop t this variety because it would add to their income too because ilis a more quality potato that would command more price than the white fleshed potato.

tion, how active have farmers

even m ounted an exh.ibition on

Is NRCRI looking for market outside Nigeria? Yes we are, but we want to satisfy the local market first before sourcing for foreign markets because charity begins at home. If farmers adopt this variety, we can satisfy the local market and meet the food need of the local Nige-

the variety and also showcased the

rian.

been? We started work with these groups, POFAN and POGMAN and other individual farmers in Nasarawa State but POFAN, headed by one Chief Dan Okafor bave been very active, they have

Thjs would increase their money

and better the economy and food security too.

NACCIMA decries low attention on agric sector From Mohammed Shosanya,Lagos

THE Nigerian As sociation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACC[MA) has decried inadequate attention to agricultural and farm settlement/clUsters in the country. President of the Association,Dr Herb Ajayi said in Lagos at the weekend that in spite of its over 40% contribution to the nation's Gross Domestic Product ,the sector is supported by less than 1% of the loanable funds in the banking sector. He said the development is counterproductive to the development of agriculture and would continue to throw the nation into economic crisis.

"We counsel urgent attention to effective revival of farm settlement, .c1usters, irrigation facilities, storage,. processing, packaging, etc., with a view to guaranteeing food security and sovereignty and making Nigeria to become a net exporter of food in the next 4 years." Commending Government's efforts in proViding incentives to boost non-oil export in the country, the NACClMA boss said that the incentives provided are apparently inadequate to meet the aspirations of exporters. According to him, a catalogue of incentiveยง to a:tlract operators engaged in the non-oil sector of the economy should be subjected to exhaustive research by the

private sector, with NACClMA facilitating the process. "In addition, we counsel that of the administration of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme should be streamlined for timely processing and disbursement of verified claims and reducing the problem of fraudulent claims. "Also, abolishing of the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) Fee of 0.5% FOB value on non-oil needs be pronounced to promote non-oil sector activities for export competitiveness is imperative. We call for the reintroduction of commodity boards to complement the efforts of the farmers engaged in the growing of export crops~

Ajayi wbo spoke on the burden of multiple taxes and levies in the country, said the development in a disincentive to investroent in the country. "We are aware of the concerns of the authorities in redUCing the effect of heavy burden of multiple taxes and levies, but would like to remind that this is a key solution, especially when considered within the context of the high operating cost for doing business and with Operators in the real sector of the economy worst hit. "This is so because government is yet to effectively barmonise and stream line as desired, the numerous taxes and levies coUectible in the economy, especially from business operators.


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