By Tina George, Minna
In its bid to prevent further increase in the price of rice across the country, the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi, has disclosed that it is scaling up rice technologies and innovations.
The Executive Director of the Institute, Aliyu Umar disclosed this during the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development and Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development, (CORAF-PAIRED) 2021 inception and annual work plan review and implementation meeting in Badeggi on Wednesday.
The scale up, according to Umar would improve rice productivity, which would enable farmers to meet up with the demand for the product across the country.
Represented by the Director of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Dr Emmanuel Maaji, the Executive Director stressed that the new technologies and innovations would increase rice variety production.
“On the issue of rice, we still need to do more in this area because the consumption rate across the country, has increased and the rice being produced now is not enough, which is why the price has been going up.
“As we go along, NCRI is putting in place more technology and innovations that will increase rice production.
Maaji also noted that the institute is coordinating the CORAF- Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development (PAIRED) project, to further improve agricultural productivity and increase production, food and nutritional security in the country.
He also stated that scaling up rice technologies and innovations require innovation platforms to vertically and horizontally disseminate improved and good agronomic practices of rice.
The Coordinator of the CORAF-PAIRED project, Audu Dogo said that the partnership between NCRI and CORAF-PAIRED is to address food security and scale-up already developed technology that has been lying low in the past.
He stated that findings showed that farmers need to increase their yield which would, in turn, increase food production, food security and reduces poverty in the nation.
Dogo explained that the meeting was to review the progress made so far and chart the course of activities for the remaining months of the year.
