Our researches now are demand driven ― ARCN

The Executive Secretary of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Professor Garba Sharubutu has said that the researches in the various Research Institutes under the ARCN are demand driven.

Professor Sharubutu said this during a visit by the House Committee on Agriculture, Colleges and Research Institutions as part of its oversight function.

He said the various Research Institutes have made giant strides developing technologies to tackle some emerging diseases and pests both presently and in the past.

“We have changed the direction of our research from basic research to demand driven agricultural research and technologies. Most of our Research Institutes now are answering the yearning.

“You will recall that we had cases where we had Armyworm that was destroying maize farms, we also have instances where pests were destroying beans farms, and also the cases of Tuta Absoluta in tomatoes.

“Our research institutes have been able to find solutions to these pests and insects, that is the demand driven agricultural research initiative”, Professor Sharubutu said.

He said the researchers are now moving into incorporating nutrients into crops in order to improve the nutritional components of crops. He said that the Council has done a lot in formulating policies for the government.

“We have also done a lot in the area of formulating policies. Before now, most of our Research Institutes did not have a clear direction of where they are going, now we receive information from the Ministry of Agriculture and pass it onto our research institutes because we want a situation where whatever we are going to do is going to fall in line with the agricultural policy.

“We have made efforts in the production of rice and cassava, we are now moving into incorporating nutrients into our various crops like vitamin A incorporated in cassava, we are now heading towards incorporating vitamin A in rice”, he noted.

The ARCN boss further stated that a lot has been done in the area of improving extension activities through provision of extension teaching materials to some Research Institutes and Colleges across the country.

“We are also into the area of improving knowledge management, we have established some of the knowledge management activities we have put in place for the purpose of extension services.

“We have improved our extension activities. Before now, the problem of agriculture has been extension services, people are not actually able to access most of these technologies.

“Now we have created a lot of centres for agricultural activities but we do not have facilities for extension services. Extension is a very difficult activity, without extension teaching materials, we will not be able to carry out the activities.

“So, we have provided for sixteen of our Research Institutes and Colleges extension teaching materials based on the provision in the budget for 2020, we are going to do more for 2021”, he said.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Colleges and Research Institutions, Honourable Munir Babba Dan Agundi, said their target for ARCN is for it to replicate the standard seen in Brazil, India and other developed countries.

He said the recently amended Act of the ARCN which has been signed by President Muhammadu Buhari is a step towards repositioning the Council and make it a hub of agricultural research in the continent and the world at large.

“We are aware of the progress made by some countries that we started together with such as Brazil, India and many of them in which their research system have gone beyond what we have in Nigeria and I think this is based on what their Act has bestowed them to do and we happy to be part of this progress Nigeria will go through in terms of research system by amending ARCN Act which will bring a lot of changes that will keep to the test of time in terms of research in this country”, he added.

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