The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kaduna State Chapter, has debunked concerns surrounding TELA Maize, saying the variety has reduced production losses and improved farmers’ earnings.
The AFAN Chairman in Kaduna, Nuhu Aminu, disclosed this on the sidelines of a field day organised by the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, on Thursday.
The event was organised in collaboration with Biotech Maize Seed Systems (BMSS) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) at Tashar Dundu, Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna State.
Themed “Eating is Believing,” the event featured public tasting of various foods prepared from TELA Maize, including maize swallow (tuwo), fermented maize cake (waina) and maize pap, among others.
Aminu said AFAN had established a cohort of farmers across the state to cascade advocacy, share experiences and encourage wider adoption of TELA Maize among farming communities.
He said the association had earmarked 30 hectares for TELA Maize cultivation during the next farming season, with clusters to be established across the different agricultural zones of Kaduna State.
According to him, AFAN, in collaboration with partners, would support participating farmers with fertiliser while requesting IAR to provide improved seeds and extension services for the cultivation programme.
In his remarks, Prof. Ado Yusuf, Executive Director of IAR, said the field day was organised to demonstrate to the public that concerns about TELA Maize safety were unfounded.
Yusuf, represented by Prof. Nafiu Abdu, Deputy Director of the institute, said: “We are here to demonstrate to people that TELA Maize is safe for everyone to eat; we have produced edible food from TELA Maize for public consumption and appreciation.
“We are here again to eat different varieties of food produced from TELA Maize with the general public, to tell the world that we eat what we produce and that TELA Maize does not cause cancer.”
Abdu said that beyond the high yield and other characteristics of TELA Maize, the institute had received feedback from end users, including companies and individuals involved in maize flour production.
He said the feedback indicated that companies and individuals producing maize flour preferred TELA Maize to conventional maize, adding that 100kg of TELA Maize produced more flour than the same quantity of conventional maize.
He said the variety also offered resistance to drought and pests, noting that farmers who previously harvested fewer than 50 bags per hectare recorded between 60 and 90 bags after adoption.
He added that TELA Maize had also reduced production costs because farmers no longer needed to frequently spray their farms with insecticides to control pest attacks during the cropping season.
Abdu reiterated IAR’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s food security by providing farmers with improved seed varieties capable of addressing production challenges and making agriculture more profitable.
Similarly, Prof. Rabiu Adamu, Principal Investigator, TELA Maize, described the variety as high-yielding, drought-resistant and protected against major maize pests, particularly Fall Armyworm and stem borers.
Adamu said the variety was highly adaptable to Nigerian conditions, especially northern Nigeria, where farmers contend with drought and high infestation of Fall Armyworm and stem borers during production.
He said TELA Maize could produce between seven and nine tonnes per hectare, compared with about six tonnes per hectare from some conventional hybrid varieties, under suitable conditions and management.
Adamu noted that Nigeria required at least 20 million tonnes of maize annually, while local production remained below 13 million tonnes, creating a significant supply gap.
He said that with Nigeria’s projected population exceeding 230 million people, there was a need to leverage high-yielding and adaptable varieties such as TELA Maize to boost domestic production.
