New potato varieties modified to withstand the deadly late blight disease said to be responsible for over 90 percent destruction on farmers’ fields in Nigeria will be available to farmers from the 2025 planting season, Dr Charles Amadi, a breeder with the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), said.
According to a news story published on EnviroNews Nigeria, Dr Amadi is the Principal Investigator, Global Biotechnology Potato Partnership (GBPP) project in Nigeria under the USAID-funded Feed the Future Project that is implemented in four countries – Kenya, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria.
The Partnership is coordinated by Michigan State University and involves various partners including the National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike; the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF); and International Potato Centre (CIP).
Dr Amadi said: “After two years of research work in confinement and multilocation in potato growing belts of Nigeria, because of the uniform results from all locations, we are confident that threats of late blight would be successfully contained in Nigeria with the release of these late blight resistant varieties that will be available in 2025.
“We just need one more year of regulatory multilocation data to present them to National Biosafety Management Agency for environmental release. If we get the permit for environmental release this year, we will take them to On-farm trials in 2025.
Source: EnviroNews Nigeria. Read the full story here
Cover image: Credit EnviroNews Nigeria
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