By Adam Said Adam, Kano
In a major boost to the country’s food security, the Federal Government has officially released a new chicken breed and 57 high-yield crop varieties aimed at increasing meat availability, improving nutrition, and strengthening food production across the nation.
The approvals were made at the 36th meeting of the National Variety Release Committee (NVRC) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, bringing together researchers, geneticists, and breeders from across the country.
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The new chicken breed, dubbed “Moorbeta”, was locally developed by the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan. Moorbeta is a meat-type chicken that boasts rapid weight gain at just 10 weeks, excellent carcass quality, and tolerance to heat stress, making it well-suited for Nigeria’s climate.
The 57 approved crop varieties span 14 crops, including rice, maize, yam, soybean, tomato, onion, pepper, cowpea, groundnut, sorghum, cotton, potato, eggplant, and plantain/banana. Notable releases include heat-tolerant tomato varieties, early-maturing yam with excellent pounding quality, new plantain and banana varieties with long shelf life, and disease-resistant potato and onion varieties.
Agricultural extension agents have been urged to ensure farmers are aware of these new developments, while research institutes and breeders have been charged to continue driving agricultural growth in Nigeria.
The release of these new varieties is expected to have a significant impact on Nigeria’s agricultural sector, improving food security and the livelihoods of farmers across the country .
