National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and National Agricultural Seeds Council, NASC two of IITA’s strategic partners and stakeholders in the cassava production had a meeting at the institute’s Head quarters in Ibadan, Nigeria to further discuss ways to build up on the existing partnership with IITA, improve and scale up BASICS-II seed system model.
Speaking with the IITA media team during the meeting that was hosted by IITA Head of Virology and Germplasm Health, Lava Kumar, NRCRI AND NASC commended the progress of BASICS-II project and its pencil stems technology which was developed for the propagation of cassava. They also highlighted some of their plans to open Nigeria to more direct investment through the plant variety protection law that ensures that researchers are paid royalties on the plant varieties they develop, control and prevent the spread of viruses and pledged their support for the commercialization of new planting materials through appropriate quality assurance procedures.
NASC newly appointed Acting Director General, Dr Ishiak Khalid enumerated the benefits of partnering with IITA for some of its technologies and requisite knowledge that have helped the seed company advance in the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities.
In 2019, IITA Ibadan in partnership with NASC inaugurated seed trackers, a comprehensive Web App designed by IITA researchers for seed value chain integration and management for smart farming in Nigeria. The seed tracker offers digital data collection tools usable on any internet-enabled devices, online and offline, offers customized individual and group accounts, and a database with analytics tools.
The seed trackers are; Cassava Seed Tracker, Yam Seed Tracker, IITA Akilimo, IITA GO-SEED tracker, and IITA herbicide calculator for weed-free fields. Read more
Contributed by Anu Oyeleye and
