To save cost of production and ensure food security in the country, Nigerian  farmers must shift from using Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) seeds to hybrids, such as Tela maize.

The advice was given by the Vice Chairman, on the board of African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) world-wide , Sylvia Kyeyune, when she led a powerful delegation on a visit to Kaduna State, on Monday.

“You’re assuming that you have a lot of land and therefore productivity. For you is not a very big deal so someone can produce very little, I mean very little on very large portion of land, because they have the big land”, she said.

“But a country that has very small land  must maximize the yield per acre. We are not even talking on hectare we are talking of acres so we must maximize the yield potential of that small space that you have. So in Nigeria because you have big land you somehow overlook productivity that is why you end up using low yielding open pollinated varieties, because you think you can plant as many acres as you want”,  Kyeyune added.

The AATF Chief who led her team of experts, including the global lead TELA maize project, Dr. Kayode Sanni, Senior Manager, AATF Programme Development and Communication, Dr. Roy Mugira and others to the Kaduna Ministry of Agriculture, pointed out that Nigeria must secure it’s future in agriculture by multiplying agricultural productivity.

Kyeyune remarked, “I mean a farmer can afford to plant a thousand acres even when they get about 15 tonnes maybe that’s not so big deal for them,  but elsewhere, where land is a limitation, you must make sure that the small land you have you get maximum productivity out of it. So Nigeria must shift from using open pollinated varieties to hybrids and to  varieties like Tela which will give you even triple
or even five times the yield of what you’re currently getting from the OPVs”.

She explained that “using the same resources, same labour,  same inputs and getting very little out of the OPVs is counter productive, so there is the   need to shift the mindset of such farmers”.

She argued, “we need to make them aware that actually this seed that they think is expensive is not very expensive, it’s actually not expensive when you look at the cost versus the benefit that you’re going to get out of planting hybrid seed” .

“You’re definitely better off planting the hybrid seed but it’s the awareness that Nigerian farmer is not fully aware of the benefit of the hybrid seed,” she added .

She therefore, tasked all stakeholders to be united and join the AATF in bringing about the desired change in orientation globally.

“Number one, and very key,  we are not going to do it alone as AATF. This is collaborative effort. We need the farmer on board. We need the seed companies. We need the regulators, the inspectors. We need the marketers”, according to her.

“Everybody needs to come together with us. We need you people in the media, because you’re the ones who actually speak a louder voice than us. But firstly, for us, we have gone out actually to do demonstrations. Because like we all know, seeing is believing,” she stressed.

Besides, shedding  more light on Tela Maize, she said that in creating more awareness, they have set up demonstration farms.

Kyeyune who is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Steering Seeds Limited, Uganda, further stressed, “we are actually planting out a number of demonstrations. Many of your farmers have actually received this seed as free samples to plant out and make sure that they actually see the benefit of using this seed versus what they have been using”.

“Number two, we are also conducting trainings. We call them, like farmers, seminars and trainings, where we actually educate them about the value of this seed. We are also going on radio. This is one of the promotions that we are also doing, that the farmers should know that actually what is being brought for them is of more value than what they have been planting”, she added.

“So those are some of the things that we have. We’re also engaging with the ministry. The ministry has just informed us we have extension agents. These are going to be very, very key to ensuring that actually the farmer gets all the information that they need. Last but not least, we also are here to advocate better policies. Because without better policies, especially the market, you know someone will ask, why should I get a bumper harvest and not have market for it?”, Kyeyune stressed.

“So we are here to advocate with the ministry, with all the other policy makers, to ensure that actually we have a fixed market price at the end of the season, so that the farmer is fully confident that when they invest into proper hybrid seed production, at the end of the day it will pay off. So we request that the market prices do not fluctuate to discourage the farmer to end up abandoning the hybrid seed production,” AATF Vice Chairman said.

Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, the global lead, TELA maize project, Sanni urged the government to ensure that best technology is adopted to overcome drought and lack of good productivity, saying that ” this so because drought itself can render farmers useless in his planting”.

According to him, ” with TELA maize, farmers will not have to spray even once, except if they want to take care of the herbicide. The technology, apart from taking care of insects and drought , it also increases the yields on the farmers field to ensure good grain quality”.

Also, the Kaduna Commissioner of Agriculture, who was represented by the Director of Agriculture Services, Vasty Zakariya Shamaki said that already the State government is supporting farmers to improve their productivity, livelihood and food Security in the country.

” We are supporting farmers to improve productivity. Although, we are faced with the challenges of global warming, as the issues of global warming have the problems of droughts and other challenges facing farmers. But, with the TELA breed , it will definitely address the challenges. We are happy with the initiative, and we will continue to partner with you to do more for our farmers”, Shamaki added.