The President of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), Prof. Jude Mbanasor, has called for stronger partnerships to translate agricultural research into practical solutions for food security, farmers’ prosperity and national development.
He made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the society’s 60th Annual Conference and Diamond Jubilee.
Stakeholders at the conference, hosted by the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), identified innovation, resilience and collaboration as priorities for transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The conference has the theme: “Feeding the Future: Scaling Innovation, Resilience and Partnerships in Nigerian Agriculture.”
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Mbanasor said agriculture goes beyond food production, contributing to employment, livelihoods, nutrition, industrial raw materials, rural development and economic growth.
He said Nigeria needed an agricultural system capable of feeding its growing population, improving farmers’ incomes and withstanding emerging economic and environmental challenges.
He urged participants to develop practical solutions rather than limit discussions to research presentations, stressing that policies, investments and partnerships would shape the sector’s future.
“Feeding the future requires that we act today,” he said, noting that current decisions would shape the next generation of farmers, agricultural scientists and agribusiness entrepreneurs.
Earlier, NBRDA Director-General, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, said Nigeria’s challenge was not a lack of scientific ideas but the difficulty of scaling validated innovations for widespread adoption.
He said biotechnology could transform agriculture through improved planting materials, rapid diagnostics for crop and livestock diseases, biofertilisers, biopesticides and technologies to reduce post-harvest losses.
Mustapha said research outcomes required effective extension services, appropriate regulation, quality assurance, financing, infrastructure and local manufacturing to reach farmers and deliver measurable benefits.
“The central challenge is scale,” he said, urging research institutions, universities, government, private investors and development partners to strengthen collaboration in moving innovations from laboratories to farms and markets.
He also called for greater investment in climate-smart agriculture, genetic resource conservation, soil restoration, efficient water use and early-warning systems to address climate variability, pests, diseases, land degradation and water stress.
Mustapha urged stakeholders to create more opportunities for young people in genomics, bioinformatics, precision agriculture, seed systems, digital extension and food processing.
He added that farmers should be treated as partners in developing agricultural technologies, not merely as recipients.
Also speaking, Dr. Rose Gidado, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee and Director of NBRDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Department, said the conference offered an opportunity to connect research with the practical needs of farmers, consumers and agribusinesses.
She said agricultural research should be measured by its ability to solve farmers’ problems, improve livelihoods and strengthen food security.
Gidado identified quality seeds as critical to crop production and called for closer collaboration among researchers, breeders, seed producers, regulators, distributors and entrepreneurs to ensure farmers had access to reliable planting materials.
She urged scientists, policymakers, farmers and private-sector operators to strengthen engagement to translate research findings into better farming practices, improved processing, efficient storage and wider market opportunities.
Gidado said the conference’s success would depend not only on papers presented but also on the partnerships established and practical actions taken afterwards.
The three-day conference, held from October 20 to 22, brings together researchers, farmers, policymakers, agribusiness operators, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss the future of Nigerian agriculture.
