Nigeria: IITA to mitigate access to improved seeds

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has organized a two-day pre-season and planning workshop aimed at consolidating the gains in the sustainable delivery of improved cowpeas to smallholder farmers in Nigeria. According to IITA seed specialist Professor Lucky Omoigui, the pre-season and planning workshop is aimed at bringing together all stakeholders along the legume seed value chain to brainstorm and finalize the work plan, outline the plan of activities for 2024 wet-season to achieve the year’s milestone and chart a seed roadmap for a robust legume seed system in Nigeria. Professor Omoigui explained that the deficit usually encountered in cowpea production is associated with farmer’s inability to access good seeds as well as improved variety that has been developed over time to mitigate high and qualitative yield and other production constraints. “Nigerian average cowpea production is about 2.3 million metric tons per annum and our annual cowpea demand is ...