Scores of agriculture researchers, geneticists, breeders, farmers and other seed stakeholders on Wednesday in Ibadan began a three-day capacity development workshop on improved productivity.
The workshop was organised by Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centre (CGIAR) SeedEqual Initiative. This was in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The coordinator of the workshop, Prof. Morufat Balogun, a geneticst, said the gathering was about training seed stakeholders on Vegetatively-Propagated Crops (VPC) like cassava, sweet potato, banana/plantain and yam.
According to Balogun, the meeting was on how to use digital tools, specifically seed trackers, to access seeds and other planting materials.
She said it was expected that the participants, particularly farmers, should know the type of seed varieties in vegetative-propagated crops which exist with the breeders at the end of the workshop.
“The participants will be more informed about the opportunities existing for them in terms of innovation in the seed system, and how to produce better agronomic practices. They will be better informed where to go for these varieties and where to access the planting materials at the right time.
“With the seed trackers, farmers don’t have to go far. It is internet-ready and smartphone-compatible, and thereby, they can make their linkages along the seed value chain. So, in terms of awareness we want the farmers to benefit and this will directly impact their productivity and returns on investment,” Balogun said.
The workshop coordinator further explained that the training was one of the geo-targeting activities of the SeedEqual Initiative of CGIAR.
According to her, geo-targeting means that different geographical locations have different peculiarities in terms of their climate, agriculture and seed demand.
“So, we don’t want to give an umbrella supply, based on a particular location. This is what the farmers or the consumer prefer and this is the seed that should be available and adapted to their agro-climatic environment.
“By so doing, it will give them more yield, because it is tailored to their own environment. So, if demand matches what we supply, there should be better profits and more food for Nigerians. Not only in terms of food but also in terms of livelihood,” she said.
She, therefore, charged farmers to be open and dynamic in their access to information, saying agriculture has changed from what it used to be, in terms of hoes and cutlasses.
Balogun told the participants that there were useful relevant information on the internet and urged them to use phones and computers to access the much information that exist.
She enjoined them also to bring their younger generation, such as their sons and daughters, into agriculture.
”This should not be in a way that looks strenuous or stressful but in a way that has glamour and economic impact on agriculture.”
Balogun further called on farmers across the country to be ready to share their knowledge and information with fellow farmers .
She urged every farmer to also join cluster associations where they can gain the legal backing of government.
Krystle Ambayec-Dino, a participant from IRRI, said the workshop would equip the invited stakeholders on better access to quality seeds through seed trackers applications. Ambayec-Dino charged the participants to maximise the opportunity of the workshop to enable them go back to impact the knowledge gained to others who were not at the event.
On his part, Mr Lava Kumar, the IITA Head of Germplasm Health Unit and Virologist, said the seed tracker was a comprehensive Web App for seed value chain integration and management.
Kumar said the seed tracker offered digital data collection tools usable on any internet-enabled device, online and offline. He urged farmers to embrace its usage to enable them have access to quality varieties of seed and other planting materials.(NAN)
