2023-06-30 14:36:00
(Ecofin Agency) – In Nigeria, wheat is the main imported cereal. The country, which wishes to increase the level of local production in order to reduce the purchase bill, is betting, among other things, on increasing the area cultivated and improving the quality of seeds.
In Nigeria, the National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) has just approved the marketing and use of 4 new varieties of wheat seeds developed by the National Association of Millers (FMAN).
According to information relayed by the local daily Daily Postthese are two varieties of soft wheat seeds called “Borlaug-FMAN” and “NELOKI-FMAN” as well as two varieties of durum wheat seeds called “Baoreca-FMAN” and “Cirno-FMAN”.
The new soft wheat seed varieties can yield up to 7 tons of wheat per hectare for a production cycle of between 85 and 90 days while the soft wheat seed varieties are designed to provide a yield of 6 tonnes per hectare, for a production cycle of between 90 and 95 days.
Overall, this is a real boost for the Nigerian sector, which until then only used seeds with an average yield of around 1.2 tonnes per hectare and a much longer production cycle which spans over 120 days, or roughly 4 months, according to USDA data.
The approval of this new genetic material might also contribute to improving the forecasts made last April by the American organization which anticipated a 40% growth in local wheat production to 156,000 tonnes during the next campaign 2023/ 2024 which will begin next November.
It should be recalled that Nigeria imports more than 5.3 million tons of wheat each year to cover demand on the domestic market. In the country, cereal cultivation occupies more than 100,000 hectares of agricultural land.
Stephanas Assocle
Read also:
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13/06/2023 – Wheat: world production expected at a record level in 2023/2024
02/06/2023 – Nigeria: Tingo Mobile grants $6.5 million to finance rice and wheat production
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