A team of researchers working on the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-Cassava Weed Management Project (IITA-CWMP) have said that the project will soon provide innovations to help tackle weed menace in Nigeria’s crop production.
The challenge of weeds on the country’s agricultural productivity was brought to the fore by stakeholders at the recent meeting of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) held in Ebonyi State.
“We want to see increases in yield in Nigeria, and our innovation in cassava weed management will help states with cassava as a priority crop to tackle weeds—a major constraint to cassava transformation,” Nteranya Sanginga, director general, IITA said.
Expressing concerns over the issue, the stakeholders issued a communique calling on the Federal Government to step up the regulation on use and distribution of herbicides and pesticides.
They are concerned that the uncontrolled influx of adulterated herbicides in the Nigerian market was jeopardizing the gains made so far in transforming agriculture and efforts to attain zero hunger.
The goal to attain zero hunger is a commitment Nigeria has made since the declaration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.
Taking the SDGs forward, Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has initiated and is leading efforts to help the country to achieve SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) with the creation of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum initiative.
The former president, with the support of IITA, the World Food Program (WFP), and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has created a forum to hit the target of zero hunger by 2025 in Nigeria.
Kenton Dashiell, deputy director general, Partnership for Delivery, said IITA’s participation in NHZF would help Nigeria to tap the institute’s capacity in science and innovation to address hunger in the country.
Josephine Okojie
