Olam Agri, LCRI Announce Release of Improved Wheat Variety to Support Nigerian Farmers

Dike Onwuamaeze

Olam Agri and Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) have released a novel heat-tolerant and super-early durum wheat variety suitable for local cultivation during the harmathan season.

This is in furtherance of their commitment of helping Nigeria to achieve wheat production self-sufficiency and food security.

The novel heat-tolerant and super-early durum wheat variety, which is called “Crown,” emerged from the work of a specialist wheat breeder at the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Dr. Filippo Bassi, as part of the work that received the Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security back in 2018.  

Bassi said: “The Crown wheat variety is tailored for the Nigerian growing conditions after working closely with local farmers to understand their needs, especially the need to grow super-early varieties that allow farmers to harvest and replant rice on time. Based on test results run with Crown Flour Mill Nigeria, this variety is certified as suitable for high-quality pasta production.”

An LCRI breeder and lead in the project, Dr. Kachalla Mala, added, “availability and accessibility of quality seed varieties are important to farmers, and we are excited to release ‘Crown,’ a heat-tolerant, high-yielding wheat variety. In collaboration with Olam Agri and ICARDA, this is the first step in a chain of actions to work with women’s cooperative unions and local farmers to multiply and commercialise the seed.”

The Managing Director of Crown Flour Mill Limited, Mr. Nitin Mehta, which is Olam Agri’s wheat milling business, said: “We are glad to reach this critical milestone of releasing Crown, a novel heat-tolerant durum-wheat seed variety tailored to the Nigerian farming conditions.

Also the Managing Director of Olam Agri’s Nigeria, Mr. Anil Nair, emphasised the company’s dedication to food security, stating that “the milestone release of the novel durum wheat seed variety supports the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and focus on food security.