Nigeria has approved the registration and commercial release of 25 improved crop varieties developed by the Institute for Agricultural Research at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with national and international partners. The approval came at the 36th Meeting of the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries, in one of the most significant varietal releases in recent years, according to the Institute for Agricultural Research.
Seeds Bred for a Harsher Climate
The newly approved varieties span cowpea, cotton, groundnut, maize and sorghum, selected to meet the productivity, resilience and quality needs of both smallholder and commercial farmers, the Institute said. Among them is SAMNUT 30, a groundnut with a yield potential of up to 6 tonnes per hectare and resistance to major diseases including leaf spots and groundnut rosette virus, developed with ICRISAT Mali.
A Nutrition Dividend
Several releases carry a direct nutrition angle. Three high-oleic groundnut varieties, KaNut-01, KaNut-02 and KaNut-03, contain over 70 per cent oleic acid and are Nigeria's first of their kind, making them suited to Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods used against child malnutrition, according to the Institute. The flagship maize variety, SAMMAZ 78, offers a yield potential of up to 9 tonnes per hectare with enhanced pro-vitamin A content and demonstrated drought tolerance, addressing productivity and nutrition together.
Better seeds are the quiet foundation of stable food supply. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices for grains and staples across Lagos markets, and gains in yield and resilience upstream eventually reach the shopper at the stall.