S2|
THEGUARDLW,Sunday, December 11,2011
BUSINESSAGRO
Cassava: Local Breeding Yields Five New Varieties By Olukayode Q/eleye
IVE improved cassava varieties have been released for commercialisation by Nigerian farmers. Chiedozie Egesi, a leading cassava breeder who is also an assistant director and head, cassava breeding at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRJ), Umudike, toJd The Guardian of the realease at the 15 meeting of the national committee on naming, registration and release of crop varieties, livestock/fisheries which was held at the conference room of the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, on Wednesday. This is expected to complement efforts towards attaining food security. The varieties, said Dr. Egesi, called UMUCASS 36, UMUCASS 37, UMUCASS 38, UMUCASS 39 and UMUCASS 40, were developed through collaborative research between National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRJ) Umudike and International Insiitute for Tropical Agriculture (1ITA) Ibadan. Three of the varieties, UMUCASS 36, UMUCASS 37 and UMUCASS 38, Egesi disclosed, are highly nutritious, containing high levels of Beta carotene - a precursor of provitamin A, expected to have "superior agronomic performance to facilitate its faster adoption by cassava farmers. They had between 6-it jig/g fresh weight of beta
F
carotene as against the less than 1-2 ug/g fresh weight in commercial cassava varieties currently grown in Nigeria." "The other 2 varieties, UMUCASS 39 and UMUCASS 40, are very high yielding, early maturing and suitable for garri, fufu, starch and high quality cassava flour. They are also drought tolerant," he said, adding that "these varieties will serve in the cassava transformation programme of the federal government^ Agricultural Transformation Agenda. This programme seeks improved varieties that wiliteed the specific value chains including gsri/fufu, starch, sweeteners (high fructose syrup), high quality cassava flour and fuel ethanol." According to Egesi, although, cassava could provide close to 80 per cent of the recommended daily allowance for carbohydrates, "the crop is very poor in other essential nutritional parameters such as vitamin A, iron and zinc, "providing just 10 to 20 per cent of the body's requirements for these nutrients. A nationwide food consumption and nutrition study conducted in early 2000 and 2005 showed that 30 per cent of children under five years old were vitamin A deficient. The proportion of children with vitamin A deficiency differed among agroecological zones with vitamin A deficiency incidence of 31.3 percent in dry savannah,
24 per cent in moist savannah and 30 per cent in humid forest." Egesi said that the consumption of cassava with high pro-vitamin A can improve the vitamin A stores of the body. 'Since cassava is eaten in various forms Dy more than 70 million Nigerians on a daily basis, enhancing the nutritional qualities will be important in achieving food and nutritional security," he inferred. ARVESTPLUS, a global consortium of scientists involved in the fortification and breeding project for better nutrition, Egesi disclosed, has, in the last few years of the project, "supported scientists" from NRCR1, 1ITA, "and other partners to develop cassava varieties with enhanced levels of beta carotene, the precursor for provitamin A, in cassava storage roots for saving thousands of people particularly children from vitamin A deficiency-related diseases such as night blindness, stunting, wasting, ore-disposition to common infections and even death." These varieties, noted Egesi, were subjected to "on-farm pre-release trials" in 13 cassava-growing states of the federation and tested on the farms of 104 farmers. The overall assessments on state basis, according to Egesi, showed that "most of the farmers indicated their preferences for the varieties that had yellow colouration of the roots (high pro-vitamin A) and of their food products. This could be taken
H
as an indication of adoption potential and acceptability of the high pro-vitamin A varieties in Nigeria given that palm oil is usually added to give gari a yellow colouration. Jn most gari markets in Nigeria, yellow gari (from palm o i l ) commands a higher price premium than the white one." Egesi expressed enthusiasm that "adoption of the yellow root cassava varieties will therefore have a dual advantage of increasing nutritional quality of the food products and reduce cost of production since there will be no need to add palm oil to give gari a yellow colouration. Also, the yellow colour of gari produced from yellow root cassava varieties will help gari store better in that it eliminates the rapid rancidity that results from palm oil addition." For those who are presently averse to genetically modified food, Egesi seemed to be saying, "the high pro-vitamin A varieties were developed through conventional breeding and did not involve the use of biotechnology. It marks the first release of highly nutritious cassava in Africa, consumption of which should give at least 50 percent of the body's recommended daily allowance." The work might not stop at this level as he revealed that "the next steps should be the rapid production of breeder's and foundation seeds stock so that farmers will have access to these new varieties.
Rabbit Meat Better For Good Health, Says Don From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia
A N EXPERT in animal physiology at the Michael Okpara I\y of Agriculture Umudike (MOUA), Umuahia, JL ahas recommended more consumption of rabbit meat to Nigerians, especially the aged and the over-weigh ted. Describing rabbit as the animal of the future, Dr. Udo Herbert on Wednesday at the 12th inaugural lecture of the university, described rabbit meat as one of the best white meats available in the market today, having a nigh percentage of easily digestible protein.and listed nine other reasons why rabbits should be animals of choice to be raised. Speaking on the subject of "Unending Seeds And.Waters Of Animal Life," Herbert held that rabbit contains the least amount of fat among all other available meats, less calorie value than other meats, is almost cholesterol -free and thUs heart-patient friendly. Herbert added that its sodium content is comparatively fess than other meats even as its calci-
um and phosphorus contents are more than any other meat while the ratio of meat to bones is high thus implying that there is more edible meat on the carcass. . According to him, while rabbit meat, with the many health benefits, does not have a strong flavour it is comparable to chicken but not identical. Examining the production side, he noted that "rabbits are one of the most productive domestic livestock animals and can produce six times as much meat on the same feed and water as cow will produce." TjROFESSOR Herbert said his choice of rabbit as his major Xexperi mental model was hinged on rabbit's maneuverability and convenience.in handling and..because it is a bridge between a herbivore and ornnivore. He implied that results from it could easily be extrapolated for both Idnds of species. He also listed some challenges he faced at the beginning of .his career saying that Nigeria had no proper animal
breeding programme, a scenario, he said lias led to farmers just mating their animals indiscriminately, "the result was the generation of animals with all sorts of characteristics and lowering potentials" He called for the encouragement of rabbit production, saying,.'because it contributes very little to the greenhouse gases, which cause global warming as compared to ruminants, thereby malting them environmental-friendly." Herbert urged governments to invest more in research especially "as it affects the conservation of our species, creates animal specie-bases research institutes and equips them properly to further the advancement and development in these our farm animal species, including, not only resuscitating the nitrogen plant at NAPRI but also setting up of other plants around the country for oyopreservation of farm animal germplasm."