ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Cowpea

Cowpea

Nigeria to earn N48bn annually from new cowpea variety

byAgency Report
June 13, 2019
2 min read

The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria has developed a new cowpea variety that would inject N48 billion into country’s economy annually.

Lead Scientist, IAR ‘Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea Research Team’, Ishaq Mohammed-Faguci, stated this on Thursday in Zaria, Kaduna State.

He said one of the main research efforts of IAR over the past 10 years had been to combat the menace of a destructive insect that affects cowpea production in the country.

“The insect is called ‘Maruca pod borer’ and is known to cause up to 80 per cent yield loss in cowpea fields. The research efforts of IAR had yielded positive results.

“The results of scientific efforts applied in modern techniques of genetic engineering, also called genetic modification has led to the development of cowpea variety that can protect itself against destructive effects of the pod borer.

“This now makes it possible for farmers to grow cowpea in their fields with very minimal insecticide sprays. Hitherto, farmers can only control the insect in their fields through heavy and frequent spray of insecticides.

“The spray ranges between five and eight sprays depending on the intensity of insect infestation,” he noted.

He said these insecticides are expensive for poor farmers, adding that it had been shown scientifically to be toxic, dangerous to human health and unsafe for the environment.

He said they cause death and pollution of water bodies and the surrounding environments.

RelatedNews

VIDEO: Nigeria receives 3.94 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines

Blood On Uniforms (1): Inside extra-judicial killings by police officers enforcing COVID-19 lockdown

VIDEO: Nigeria to receive COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday – Official

VIDEO: How bandits terrorised Kagara for years before students abduction

“The benefit of this variety to Nigerian farmers and consumers is that, instead of eight sprays of insecticides, this new variety can be produced with only two sprays, thereby saving the farmers around four to six sprays.

“The total benefit to the country as a result of savings from reduced insecticide usage, if this variety is grown on one million hectare out of the 3.8 million hectares planted to cowpea in Nigeria, translates to over N16.2 billon annually.

“In addition, this variety has about 20 per cent inherent yield advantage over many of the conventional cowpea varieties.

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

“The annual economy benefits from that is estimated to be N48 billion annually, if one million hectares are planted to this insect resistant variety assuming one tonne of cowpea cost N120,000,” he said.

Mr Mohammed-Faguci explained that in view of the fact that this variety was developed using genetic engineering techniques, it had to undergo scientific evaluation to access its similarities to the conventional varieties for food, feed and safety to the environment.

The scientist said it has been evaluated on effects on non-target insects and other organism, adding that it would be allowed to be grown commercially by December.

Mr Mohammed-Faguci said series of scientific experiments had been conducted under the supervision of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).

He said the NBMA, after studying the results of the experiments in February, had granted environmental release permit for the new variety to be grown by farmers and to be consumed as food in the country.

Mr Mohammed-Faguci said in addition to the worth of the variety for food and safety to the environment, agronomic benefits was corroborated by farmers who were provided with the seeds for test-production.

ADVERTISEMENT

He, however, said the research team was billed to present the results of the agronomic performance of the new variety to the National Variety Release Committee in December.

(NAN)

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...


JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (0)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Here’s what to know about Aisha Buhari’s N772,200 Democracy Day dinner outfit

Next Post

Niger Govt. to acquire N1.8bn tractors for 2019 farming season

Agency Report

Agency Report

More News

Nike Kikiowo

Women in Agriculture: My experience shows youth need not waste time looking for jobs – Farmer

February 27, 2021
Chinonye Ezem

Women in Agriculture: How missing Pharmacy admission helped me – Farmer

February 20, 2021
Nigeria's cassava harvest supplies food but little income for farm families. There has been little investment in improved varieties, in mechanisms for farmers to get their crops to market, or in value-added manufacturing that could underpin economic growth. [PHOTO CREDIT: Elephant Group PLC]

IITA, partners make case for cassava seed system as demand exceeds N10bn

February 18, 2021
Basket of Onions

Food prices fall but farmers union says poor storage risks hike

February 9, 2021
A Farm

FG distributes free inputs to smallholder farmers in Gombe — Minister

February 8, 2021
Chinasa Asonye

Women in Agriculture: How quitting oil servicing job helped me grow — Farmer

February 6, 2021
Next Post
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello

Niger Govt. to acquire N1.8bn tractors for 2019 farming season

Donald Trump

Trump under pressure for saying he’d take foreign intel on rivals

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


NITDA Ad





Glo Ad

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 1,627,656 other subscribers.

Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert



Zenith Advert
ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.