Scientists in the Root and Tuber Crops (RTC) research have intensify efforts on ways to improve and modernise root and tuber crops breeding to produce varieties that would be most suitable for food and industrial purposes.

Scientists in the Root and Tuber Crops (RTC) research have intensify efforts on ways to improve and modernise root and tuber crops breeding to produce varieties that would be most suitable for food and industrial purposes.

This was disclosed at a five-day workshop held at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Abia State, organised by the Accelerated Breeding Initiative (ABI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

The chief host and Executive Director of NRCRI, Professor Chiedozie Egesi said that the workshop with the theme: “Product Design Team Workshop,” focused specifically on root and tuber crops like cassava, yam, sweet potato and potato.

“We are not working with only breeders, though it is a breeding workshop.  We have come to the realisation that breeding of crops is not only to be done by Breeders but also by agronomists, farmers, seed companies, sociologists, extension workers, food scientists, agric-economists, gender specialists, data managers and all of these people make up the stakeholders who are involved in breeding or the development of new varieties of crops.

“This is the new way forward as each of these stakeholders play a critical role to enable breeders get the right kind of variety out.”

Prof Egesi further said the workshop is holistic, as it addressed all emergent breeding needs.

“We are looking at the market segments as different groups of people are looking for different designs of the product. Industries want variety of cassava with high quality flour, ethanol and high starch: farmers want varieties for garri and fufu and all these people are demanding for new varieties that meet these needs.

“The workshop also considered how to optimise breeding operations, make them seamless, more efficient, cost effective and yet it meets up with not only the farmer, but also other end users and consumers.”

Expressing delight, Egesi said that by holding the workshop, Nigeria is now among the partner countries to hold the workshop. “Some East African counties like Ugandan Cassava and Potato breeding team have gone through this process and we are happy that we were not left behind as the Accelerated Breeding Initiative of the CGIAR has prioritised us to make us come to speed in modernising RTC breeding.

“The good thing is that at the end, we will be able to submit a proposal we can call a bankable proposal to the CGIAR to fund and support breeding of crops like sweet potato and potato and to further expand the work being done in yam, cassava to ensure that root and tuber crops in Nigeria are improved to meet the food security programme of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.”

Also, the Root and Tuber Breeding Manager at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, and ABI Transform Team Lead for West and Central Africa, Dr Vishnuvardhan Banda, said his role is  “to help NRCRI develop and access improved crops varieties, improve their shelf life, prepare their key targets, define their product and decide what to do with their production, including segmenting their production to the right audience at the right time with the right testing protocols and locations.”

At the end of the workshop, the Executive Director, Egesi, who expressed gratitude to the IITA team for making out time from their busy schedule to train and support the institute’s scientists, urged all scientists to take the moon shot in their various career progression.