Despite decades of agricultural research in Nigeria, most smallholder farmers remain disconnected from the improved practices developed in research institutes, experts said at a national workshop in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking at the workshop, Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), stated that the disconnect between research outputs and real-time farm applications is contributing to low productivity and rising food insecurity. “Research institutes are working, but their outputs are trapped in files,” Onyekpere said. “Until we move innovations into the hands of farmers, the food system cannot respond to current pressures.”
The workshop, themed “Together We Grow Sustainable Food Systems for a Resilient Future,” brought together representatives from research bodies, the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), and agricultural ministries from Niger, Abuja, and Oyo States.
Highlighting cassava as an example, Onyekpere said the crop’s economic potential is being wasted despite Nigeria accounting for 20% of global production. Also speaking, House Committee on Agriculture member, Hon. Kelechi Nworgu, said the poor link between research and grassroots farming is “a structural failure that must be fixed” to tackle declining yields.
Leave feedback about this