Food Security: Agency Targets Women Farmers to Drive Adoption of Improved Seeds to Enhance Food Production

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Women farmers have been identified as the main channel to introduce locally developed improved seeds into Nigeria’s food production chain to engender sustained bountiful harvests.

Presently, three improved crops – Bt cowpea, Bt maize(tela maize), and Bt cotton developed through genetic engineering by Nigerian research scientists have been officially certified by regulatory authorities.

The seeds were genetically engineered to be resistant to pests and diseases, as well as drought tolerance hence the need to multiply them through traditional plant breeding practices.

To get the improved seeds into farms across Nigeria, SHESTCO has, through its Biotechnology Advanced Research Centre come up with the SeedWise(Strengthening Engagement, Education for Community Women in Improved Seeds) initiative.

Speaking at the take-off phase of the project in Enugu, the Deputy Director of SHESTCO, a  multisectorial research agency, Dr. Andrew Iloh, said that women farmers were specifically chosen to drive the initiative because “women are the custodians of biodiversity”.

He said that no fewer than 35 authentic women farmers were identified from Enugu and Anambra States and assembled at Enugu for an interactive session to acquaint them with the improved seeds and pave the way for their adoption.

“If you train a woman, you have trained the whole nation. So we are here to build the knowledge of these local women on these new technologies in agriculture,” he said.

Though Enugu was picked as the take-off point of the first phase of the SeedWise  project, Iloh stated the programme would be carried out across Nigeria, adding that the ultimate goal was for the women to become improved seed champions.

“This project is a continuous, long term affair. And the beauty about this is that this project also takes some cue under the Renewed Hope Agenda policy of Mr. President, which regards food security as a priority,” he said.

Aside from equipping the women farmers with the knowledge about improved seeds, the resource persons also used the session to help the women distill facts from myths and misconceptions about research outputs from biotechnology.

“The programme,” Dr. Iloh explained, “is aimed at building knowledge for community women farmers on improved seedlings, specifically seeds that have been developed using biotechnology processes.

“So, we are training them to have knowledge specifically about tela maize PBR cowpea, that is the pod borer disease resistant cowpea. These are two indigenous seeds that have been done by Nigerian scientists”.

He further stated the participants would be primed to master the entrepreneural aspect of farming, network extensively and form cooperatives for the massive production of certified seeds, thereby enhancing their economy.

He urged Nigerian farmers to imbibe the knowledge of identifying certified seeds in order to enhance agricultural productivity, stressing the need for them to embrace technology as farming has gone beyond hoes and cutlasses, and recycling of seeds.

“As a scientist, my job is to see how we can improve our agricultural practices with science. And not just science, the science that we move towards development,” the biotech research scientist said.

“So when we do those things scientifically, it’s our job to transfer those technologies to development. It’s not our job to build markets, but transferring our technologies to development means training the right people to use those technologies”.

Iloh lauded the Director General, SHESTCO, Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, for giving approval for the training of the women farmers to go ahead in collaboration with the partners of the biotech research centre.

In his remarks, Kehinde Jimoh of the African Agriculture Foundation, described the SeedWise women project as a life-time opportunity to receive a life-changing knowledge to develop capacity for economic growth.

He urged the participants to keep their minds open to improve their agricultural practices through the adoption of scientifically developed farming methods and improved seeds.

Some of the participants that took turns to speak with journalists acknowledged their  ignorance on improved seeds and identification of certified seeds for food production.

They noted that the SeedWise programme has come at the right time given that they have been experiencing decline in food production occasioned by changing climatic conditions and devastating effects of crop diseases.