Minister tasks NIHORT on need for accurate data on commodities

•Charges institute to work on making greenhouse affordable to farmer

Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security,  Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has called on the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), expedite action on having accurate data around commodities on its manadate.

The minister stated this during a a working visit to NIHORT recently, saying data is supposed to be a guide in terms showing the direction to take. He said:”The three commodities I will like you to put in the forefront because of their importance to national food security are: onions, tomato and pepper.

“I am not saying others are not as important as the ones earlier mentioned, but these three are essential. The bottomline is that Nigeria is depending on your institute as far as fruits and vegetables are concerned.

“I am happy we have resored the seed planing system where the research institutes, the National Agricultural Seed Council (NSAC) and all the producers of seeds in the ecosystem will have meetings to set the target and also what is the total volume of tomato we expect in the country? As researchers this is what you need to bring out for us.

“I remember I requested a list of your data analysts and I think you sent some people. We are going to look into that because one of the worrisome aspects is that we are poor when it comes to data.

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“A lot of activitities are happening, so, we want to consciously put in place a framework that will allow us to give agricultural data that will give an insight into what is happening. As we speak for example, NIHORT should have been at the top of the game with one touch of a button to tell us what our total demand is, our total demand for banana and all other commodities. Where are they produced? you should be able to tell us the ecosystem where this production is takinhg place.

“That is the kind of thing we want to start doing, we believe if we are getting this information, investors will find it much  easier to want to work with you.”

While stressing the importance of tomato production, the minister said:”Let us see what we can do to support more tomato production. A lot is happening in the West African coast and I have checked. So many new technologies are being introduced, young Nigerians are being promoted and supported and we need to take that challenge.

“In some other West African countries, I have seen where they are promoting all of these things and young members of those countries are being supported. We can do the same for Nigeria. I know there are quite a number of Nigerians who have taken up the challenge through simple technology such as green house.

“As an institute, you should think about collaborators on how you can domesticate with more local content on greenhouse because greenhouse can be expensive for some farmers to afford. You can look for other local materials that you should start testing and ensure that in the long run you are able to come up with something within the context of more local content for Nigeria.

In response, Executive Director, NIHORT, Professor Muhammed Lawal Attanda, expressed gratitude for the Minister’s visit and assured Nigerians of the institute’s commitment to further live up to  on its mandate. He announced the imminent release of new onion, garden egg and plantain varieties among other future developments.

Prior to the minister’s visit, NIHORT, recently released two high-performing varieties of tomatoes namely: HORTITOM4 and HORTITOM5 which were formally registered, announced and released to farmers by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries, during its 39th meeting hosted by the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Highlighting the significance of the new tomato releases, Attanda elaborated on their superior attributes.

“HORTITOM4 and HORTITOM5 are pure line varieties with a determinate growth habit, making them well-suited for both open field rainfed cultivation, screen house farming, and irrigated systems. Crucially, both varieties exhibit tolerance to bacterial wilt, a major constraint for our tomato farmers. Furthermore, they boast good fruit quality and are packed with essential nutrients, including high levels of Vitamin C, lycopene, and total carotenoids,” he said.