Nigeria: Why we need speed breeding technology on wheat

Professor Baba Gana Jugudum Kabir is the Executive Director of the Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri, Borno State, charged with the mandate for genetic improvement of wheat. In this interview, he explains some of the major issues affecting wheat production in Nigeria: Let’s start with some background information about the work that your research institute is doing. What is your assessment of the journey so far? The institute was established almost 50 years ago. That was in 1975. We are expecting to celebrate our golden jubilee next year. The institute has a national mandate for genetic improvement of wheat, millet and barley. And, in delivering this mandate, the institute has so far registered and released 17 wheat varieties. Out of these, 13 are bread wheat, and of the 13, two are rain-fed varieties, which are adapted for cultivation in Jos Plateau, Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State, and the Obudu Plateau in Cross River State. The four remaining varieties are durum wheat. ...