The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar, paid a working visit to the headquarters of the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) in Ibadan, where he distributed Okro seeds and pesticides patented and produced by the institute.
The Minister expressed his joy at the new products produced by the institute while assuring Nigerians that the Federal Government would continue to increase the capacity of research institutes in order to avoid a shortage of food in the country.
Abubakar disclosed that as part of plans to make sure the country does not experience a food crisis, the ministry is working with the customs to make sure the smuggling of food out of the country is stopped.
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He added that the ministry is planning to embark on dry season farming, which will commence next month, while distributing Okro seeds and pesticides to Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) representatives from Oyo, Osun, and Ogun states.
The Executive Director, NIHORT, Dr Muhammed Attanda, while appreciating the Minister for his constant support of the institute, noted that the distribution of seeds and other inputs was an annual ritual that they had undertaken to hear from farmers about the seeds produced by the institute.
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“It is an annual ritual undertaken by the institute.” It is called pair review; we undertake this in the agricultural research system so that we can hear from them. “If these seeds are good, they will come back here next year and tell us in black and white,” he said.
The Chairman of the Oyo State Agricultural Development Farmers’ Association, Alhaji Salihu Imam, applauded the support of the institute, saying that “NIHORT is the only institute that provides farmers with free fields ranging from 30 to 40 hectares to plant their mandate crops.”
