At the start of 2022 in Jos, the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), under the Feed the Future Global Biotech Potato Partnership project that seeks to resolve the lingering challenge of late blight disease, started developing and releasing varieties of blight resistant potatoes.
Prof. Chiedozie Egesi, Executive Director, NRCRI, said the biotech potatoes project aims at providing an enduring solution to the late blight menace in Nigeria. “We are happy to show our esteemed farmers, and other stakeholders, the first harvest from the CFT. It is our firm belief that with biotech potatoes, we have an enduring solution to late blight in Nigeria. It is time for our farmers to wipe away their tears,” he says.
Prof Egesi, who was represented at the trial by Dr Charles Amadi, Principal Investigator for the project, assured the farmers that the institute, in collaboration with other partners, would expedite the release of the new varieties to boost harvests and income from sale of surplus produce.
Source: environewsnigeria.com