Following the recent floods in parts of Nigeria, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Oudu Oghbe warned of a significant food shortage in the country if measures are not taken to mitigate the effects of the flood on farms.
Speaking about the commissioning of the National Molecular Agriculture Fund and the Seed Fair in 2018 and the days of farmers in Abuja, Ogbe said that flood affected many countries that produce rice, and many rice farmers lost everything on their farms.
He gave the example of Cosmos Maduka from the Coscharis farms in the state of Anambra, which lost about 8,000 hectares of rice in Anambra, adding that states such as farmers Jigawa, Kebbi and Kogi lost their farms before the flood.
“When I leave one of the largest rice farmers in the country whose farm has been completely destroyed, I’m talking about Mr. Cosmos Maduk …. Unknown to many of you that he is a big farmer, he grew 8,000 football fields of rice, all spoiled flow …
“Like the chairman of SEEDAN, we have to find a way to reach farmers who have lost their crops, because in places like Jigawa, Kebbi, Anambra and Kogi, many farmers have lost what they planted … we also hope that as soon as it rains, we will encourage farmers to transplant, so that the residual moisture in the soil plus irrigation can give us another crop by the end of December or early January, otherwise we may face serious problems for Millet, Maize, Rice and Sorghum, because we need to eat and eat well " he added.
He commended the efforts of the Seeds Council to produce a flood-rich variety of rice, which states that it will soon be produced in large quantities for distribution to farmers.
“Currently, new rice varieties are being produced here:“ Tolerance to floods in the headlamps 66 and 67 ”; we hope to get them on the field in large quantities, enough for farmers to plant them in the near future. ”
Molecular agent
When commissioning the Molecular Fund of the Ogbe Seed Council, he praised the Seed Council for regulating activities, since it created the Molecular Laboratory for the diagnosis of common diseases that limit crop yields, especially those that are not visible to the naked eye.
He also praised the Bill and Merlinda Gates Foundation for sponsoring the project through its BASIC cassava seed program.
The Minister noted that the seed fair and the Farmers Field Day are designed to educate farmers and students on the benefits of using improved seeds in comparison with the “rescued seeds” farmers, which are currently the prevailing practice in rural farming communities.
The minister added that the government is committed to ensuring the livelihood of farmers, and therefore seed market surveillance will be installed in all states of the Federation to ensure that farmers sell only quality seeds.
