Tuesday, February 15, 2011
THISDAY, Vol. 16, No. 5776, Page 39
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agnc Nigeria Ha~ Improved in Cassava' Varieties - IITA
T
he International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (!ITA) has said that the Nigerian government has released four improved cassava varieties that will boost pr0duction and keep the counny in the lead as the world's largest producer of the root crop. The varieties, which are a product of about a decade-old conventional breeding research include; NR 01f0004, CR41-IO, TMS 00/0203, and TMS 0110040. TMS 00/0203 and TMS 0110040 were bred by scientists working at the Ibadanbased International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (!ITA); while NR 0110004 and CR 4110 were bred by Umudikebased National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCR!) and the Colombian-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Stories by Crusoe Osagie respectively. !ITA said that On-farm prerelease trials involving local farmers in eight states of the counny show that the improved varieties out-performed local checks with an average yield of about 31 tons per hectare as opposed to 26 tonnes per hectares recorded by the local varieties. . "Farmers love the varieties for their excellent culinary qualities, high yield, and resistance to pest and diseases;' !ITA said. "The release of the varieties is good news for Nigerian fanners in particular and African farmers in general;' said Dr. Peter Kulakow, !ITA Cassava Breeder. "We expect to see more cassava produced in Nigeria .. he
added. !ITA added that over the last decade, cassava has evolved in Nigeria from a mere food security crop to a cash and industrial crop, stating that annual production has increased from 32 million metric tons in 1998 to 45 million metric tons in 2008, thanks to crop improvement programs by !ITA and partners. "The new varieties seek to strengthen Nigeria's leader-
ship in cassava production,
increase fanners' incomes and guarantee food security;' !ITA stressed. "Although cassava is hardy and can survive where most other crops cannot, it responds to good environments when it finds one;' !ITA added. !ITA said that researchers say the key to mitigating changes in environmental conditions and pest and diseases among many others
depend on the deployment of suitable varieties that will not suffer from sudden changes in
. cassava varieties that may be a buffer to cassava production
.the environment.
no single variety can achieve all the end-users' requirements;' they added. The reSearchers argue that the present and future demands on cassava for food and industrial needs make it necessary to always provide the farmers suitable improved
in an integrative manner since
"Host plant resistance still remains the most. sustainable approach to mitigate the impact of pests and diseases on agricultural productivity;' said Drs CN. Egesi and E. Okogbenin, NRCR! Cassava Breeders. '''These filetors call for the need to cultivate a range of
cassava varieties to meet their challenges.
Global Fish Stock Fails to Improve
T
he Food and Agriculrure Organisation (FAO) has said that the status of global fish stocks has not improved. According to the latest data and trends from FAO the overall percentage of overexploited, depleted or recovering fish
stocks in the world's oceans have not dropped and are estimated to be slightly higher than ill 2006. FAO added that about 32 percent of world fish stocks are estimated to be overexploited depleted or recovering and need to be urgently rebuilt, the report said, "Fisheries and aquacUlture support the livelihoods of an estimated 540 million people. The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of about 17 kg per per-
son on average, supplying over three billion people with at least IS percent of their average animal protein intake," FAO said. 'This increase is due mainly to the ever-growing production of aquaculture which is set to overtake caprure fisheries as a source of food fish, according to the State of the World's Fisheries and Aquaculture;' FAO said. FAO stated that Fish products continue to be the mosttraded of food commodities, worth a record $102 billion in 2008, up nine percent from 2007. FAO however stated that 15 percent of the stock groups monitored by FAO were estimated to be underexploited 3 percent or modemtely exploited 12 percent and therefore able to produce more than their current catches. "That there has been no improvement in the status of stocks is a matter of great concern," said FAO fisheries expert Richard Grainger. In his words one of the report editors "The percentage of overexploitation needs to go down although at least we seem to be reaching a plateau." The report also examined the growing legal efforts to
enforce tighter controls on the
fisheries
sector,
such
as
through trade measures and against illegal, wrreported and unregulated fishing. FAO said that the trade measures are meant to. block enny of such fish and fish products from international trade in an effort to better manage the entire fisheries sector and reduce levels of overexploitation. ''A recent study' estimates the cost of illegal and wrreported fishing alone at $10-235 billion per year;' FAO said. FAO added that the increasing demand for fish highlights the need for the sustainable
management
of
aquatic
resources, saying that. the report recornmends an ecosys-
tem approach to fisheries. which is an integrated approach for balancing .societal objectives with the state of the fishery and its natural and
human environment. "Fish is a good quality and high protein food and the sector contributes in an important way to world food security," said Grainger.
• L-R; Finance DirectoT,¡Vitafoam Nigeria Pic, Mr. Bras Ogun, Technical Director,Vita/oam, Mr. Joel Ajiga, guest of honour, Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenukwe, and Marketing Director of the company, Mr. Peter Folikwe, at the Vita/oam Nigeria at 50 Promo draw held in Lagos ... recently PHoTo: Dan Ukana
Nigeria, Malawi Release New Soya Bean Varieties igeria and Malawi have released new improved
N
soybean varieties to increase the production
of soybean. According to a report by International Institute of Tropical of Agriculrure (!ITA) legume is a cheap source of protein and is fast gaining popularity for animal feed, food, raw material for producing high-qUality protein products and improving soil fertility by
fixing atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, giving farmers a reason to smile. The three varieties~ one in Malawi dubbed TGx 174O-2F and two in Nigeria, TGx 1987IOF and TGx 1987-62F, outperfonned the populor varieties being grown in the two countries during on-station and onfarm trials.
The varieties were developed by
the International of Tropical of Agriculrure (!ITA) in collaboInstitut~
Role of Agric in Improving Nutrition Stressed
W
hile reviewing the country's nutrition
index,
polices I
and
strategies, the Prime Minister emphasised the role of integmted farming that promotes growing food grains, mulch cattie, and horticulrure to meet nutritiQnal needs of poor people.
In
a
conference
on
'Leveraging agriculture for improving nutrition and health' in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said, "Nutrition and health are issues are particularly topical today as the world faces rising food prices in many countries and there is growing recognition that climate change may endanger food security in many developing countries. "Levemging agriculture for improving nutrition and health, which is the central theme of this conference. is particularly
important in developing countries where agriculture is also the mainstay of a very large number of people:' The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPR!) organised the conference as part of International Policy Consultation. As Amartya Sen's work shows, India has more malnourished people, especially children, than sub-Saharan Africa has. Nearly one billion go hungry globally. One in four children under the age of five is underweight.,
In spite of government's efforts, malnutrition, and its
deadly effects, stalks various lands. The hidden hunger, which is defined as deficiency of essential vitamins, minerals like iron, is severe in parts of India and ihe world. Rapid growth in agriculture will not
only meet the nutritional needs of the poor and disadvantaged people but also improve access and availability. The Prime Minister added, "We need to address the issues of absorption of nutrition, health and hygiene, which in tum depend on many other factors such as the availability of clean drinking water, sanitation and also on the education and status of women in society. We do not see agricultural development ~ the only element in our strategy but it is nonetheless a key part of any viable
strategy.'.' The Indian government's' priority, according to PM, is to ensure food security, which in tum requires self-suffiCiency. He said Ibat ,.the government focused on adequate production of cereals and pulses because' they are the' staple food ..
ration wi th the Malawian Department of Agricultural Research Services (OARS) and the Nigerian National Cereal Research Institute (NCR!). The Malawi Agricultural TeChnology Clearing Committee (ATCC) officially approved the release of TGx 174O-2F on 18 January 2011, while the' Nigeria Varietal Release Committee released TGx 1987- IOF and TGx 1987 -62F on 2 December 2010. According to UTA Soybean
Breeder based in Malawi Hailu Tefera, , the varieties consistently did better than the standard and local checks, giving high grain yield in multiple locations under on-station and on-farm trials.
"Farmers had many reasons for falling in love with this variety: it marures early, has more pods per plant up to the top of the plant, performs well under poor and erratic minfall, and has better lodging resistance. This means it remains standing upright for the better part of its growth and maturity," Tefera said.. . "It is a big milestone for !ITA as this is the first time that. an IITA developed promiscllous soybean variety
is released in Malawi ," he
added
!ITA said that in Nigeria , TGx '1987-IOF and TGx 1987-62F, medium maturing varieties, proved highly resis-. tant to rust, bacterial blight .
.
and cercospora leaf diseases. He said that the varieties are preferred by many farmers because they smother weeds and reduce the cost of weeding. "Fanners that participated in the on-farm trials of the varieties said they preferred them especially for their golden color at maturity;'!ITA added. "In Malawi , TGx 1740-2F exceeded the grain variety Nasoko and the widely grown promiscuous variety Magoye which were used as checks by 10 percent and 32 percenl respectively during the twoyear multi-location on-station l1ials with a mean grain yield of 2464 kg per hectare;' IJTA said. IITA said the variety perfanned equally well during onfarm participatory variety selection trials in four districts of central Malawi. In 2009/10 season, it out-yielded all the new types of soybean varieties under testing by giving 2248 kg per hectare. It also surpassed Nasoko and Magoye by 15 percent and 38 percent, respectively. IITA pointed out that the two countries are among the top five producers of the crop in Africa with Nigeria being the first and Malawi the fifth after South Africa , Uganda and Zimbabwe. '''The development of these 'varieties serves as a boost to African nationsas they strive to attain the Millennium Development Goal number one,which seeks to reduce hunger and .!"'verty;'!ITA said.