‘We have released 38 new varieties of cassava’

What is the mandate of the National Root Crops Research Institute? Our station here is one of the outstations of the Root Crops Institute Umudike. Broadly speaking, our institute has the mandate of carrying out research into root and tuber crops production, processing, utilization, marketing and storage. Root and tuber crops of interest in these terms […]

What is the mandate of the National Root Crops Research Institute?
 Our station here is one of the outstations of the Root Crops Institute Umudike. Broadly speaking, our institute has the mandate of carrying out research into root and tuber crops production, processing, utilization, marketing and storage. Root and tuber crops of interest in these terms include cassava, which of course you know how important it is. Yam, coco yam, ginger, turmeric, sweet potato, and a whole lot of others we call the minor root crops. These are all within our mandate. No other establishment or organization has the national mandate to carry out research into processing, utilization and storage of these crops, except the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike.
From what I have said, you will understand that we have an array of crops to research on and these crops cut across all ecological zones in Nigeria and all geo-political zones as well. So to do the work effectively, the institute established outstations in most geopolitical zones of the country. For example, the Nyanya substation is within the north-central zone. What our station here does is to carry out research into root and tuber crops production, processing, utilization and marketing.
The outstation also serves as an avenue for showcasing the developed technologies of the National Root Crops Research Institute. We carry out research not for the sake of carrying out research, but to solve some specific agric related problems for farmers. So when we develop some technologies, one thing is to develop the technology, another thing is to allow the technology get to the end users, the farmers in this respect. So we use the out station as a target arena for reaching the grassroots farmers so that they will be carried along and they will be told about the existence of these technologies and how to do things better so as to get value for the money they invest in agriculture.
Let us look at the genetic improvement of some root and tuber crops of economic importance in Nigeria like cassava, yam and potato; do you have any newly developed or improved varieties released to farmers?
Yes.  We have really developed an array of varieties, in terms of cassava, potato and also yam. It is on record today that the National Root Crops Institute recently released five varieties. These varieties are very high yielding and they bring to total the number of varieties released in terms of cassava to 38 varieties. One thing about our varieties is that all the varieties we have released are improved varieties that have specific characteristics and they have qualities over the local varieties that are in existence. Like I said, we released TMS 01/1368 which we call UMUCASS 37. This cassava is one of those we released recently and it has high bitter carotene content. And you know that, carotene is precursor of vitamin A. Vitamin A we know is important in correcting vitamin A deficiency in children under the age of five and pregnant women.
The diet of our people most of the time is carbohydrate based. When they are taking food, you find out that at the end of the day, what they go home eating every time is carbohydrate and that account for malnourishment and it exposes them to certain deficiency syndrome in life. So we said since we cannot stop the people from taking carbohydrate because that is their basic food; we now have to carry out research to increase the nutritional qualities of the carbohydrate- based food they eat.
So our researchers at the headquarters went into drawing board and then came up with the UMUCASS series which I have told you, have an advantage in addition to high yielding and resistance to certain diseases. They have bitter carotene which is a precursor for Vitamin A. meaning when you are taking this variety of cassava, you are not just taking carbohydrate alone, you are taking it alongside with Vitamin A and I think it is a very big breakthrough as far as a research is concern in Nigeria.
Have you developed any early maturing and drought tolerant varieties of cassava?
We have different varieties with different characteristics. For those in the north, you know they suffer from aridity problem. Often times they have active period of rain for two or three months, within that time, that is the only time they have enough rain in the soil. In other words the environment is predisposed to draught. We have developed what we call UMUCASS 40, which is among the series we released recently. That one is resistant to drought and very suitable also for garri and fufu making. This variety UMUCASS 40 is very resistant to drought and can survive conveniently in drought-prone areas like certain parts of the North.
How do farmers in the villages get information about these newly developed varieties and where to get them from?
Our own is to carry out research and develop these technologies. Now with the collaborations of ADPs (Agricultural Development Projects), these are the people that have the national mandate of transferring these technologies direct to the farmers. But we compliment what they do. Like I have told you, the National Root Crops Research Institute substation here in Nyanya is established to serve the needs of people in the north central. So we work in collaboration with ADPs to extend these technologies that we have developed. Often times, we get involved in demonstration field. Right now as I am talking with you, we are establishing some demonstration farms in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where we showcase these technologies. We are making a comparison of the growth and yield responses of some of these improved varieties we have developed, comparing them with the local varieties known to the farmers, and allowing them to see these things themselves. They will be part of this exercise and then they will be carried along. At the end of the day, they will see the differences in growth pattern, yield and draught tolerant and all that; and they make the choice themselves.
So, it is not a matter of compelling them to accept the technologies, we carried them along by doing this demonstration of a thing whereby they see things we are saying, not just speaking grammar. They see that what we are saying is true and they are carried along. But the problem is that, you know the tradition of our people, once they are used to a particular thing, it is not always so easy for them to abandon it no matter how superior the new technology may be. In this regard, we are calling on the media to complement the effort we are making so that they will be really convinced that adopting the new technologies will not do them any harm.