BUK Centre Introduces New Groundnut, Sorghum Technologies to Boost Food Security

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The Center for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University, Kano, has introduced improved technologies to enhance production of groundnut and sorghum.

The Deputy Director of the CDA, Professor Sanusi Mohammad Gaya, told journalists in Doka village of Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State, explained that the brown field demonstration intended to showcase the significance results of the technologies.

Mohammad hinted yesterday that the outcome of the trial has justified the commitment of the centre to enhance food production, empower smallholder farmers and the university’s community service.

He emphasised that farmers would harvest a high yield of not less than 1,000 kg per hectare, equivalent to 50 bags of in-shell groundnut against 200 kg per hectare harvest on local crops.

The deputy director noted that the new technologies have an early maturity of 100 days after which farmers could harvest the crops.

He added that 50 farmers, including women counterparts, are already benefiting from the CDA seeds in Doka and other villagers, among the 22 university communities.

“The essence of the field day is to showcase the impact of the improved seeds produced by the centre. The Centre demonstrates new technologies of groundnut and sorghum production. The drought of quality seeds for high production prompted the research for the new varieties.

“We have come out with SAM 26 and SAM 27 for early maturity, high yielding improved resistance to bio and abiotic resources, tolerance to drought. When you evaluate local varieties of groundnut, farmers hardly get 200 kilogram per hectare about five bags but with the improved seeds, farmers will have a minimum of 1,000 kilogram, one tons and about 50 bags of in-shell groundnut,” Mohammad explained.

One of the Farmers, Mr. Abubakar Aminu, who narrated his experience with SAM 26 and SAM 27, stressed that the improved varieties have proved significantly better than the local seed.

Aminu said that the improved seeds received from CDA started generation within two months of production against the usual tradition with local breeding.

The introduced new technologies under the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA), a project launched in February 2019 and being funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, led by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) with several implementing partners include CDA, BUK.

The project is targeted to improve the breeding and seed system as well as enhance the livelihood of small-scale producers and consumers of groundnuts, sorghums, millets, beans and cowpea. AVISA project is presently implemented in seven countries, namely Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda.