Federal Government has introduced new chicken breeds, Noiler and Cobb 500, and high-yield crop varieties.
This was disclosed at the 34th National Committee meeting, Registration, and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds, and Fisheries, held on Thursday, according to NAN.
The Chairman of the National Variety Release Committee, Professor Soji Olufajo, described the registration process as based on the technical sub-committees’ recommendations.
“The new chicken breeds are Noiler and Cobb 500, the high-yield crops include wheat, barley, maize, cassava, rice, castor, and jute,” Olufajo stated.
The technical sub-committee chaired by Prof. S. Ado during its 38th meeting on Tuesday deliberated on the 19 varieties received.
After careful consideration, 14 varieties were recommended to the NVRC for final approval during Thursday’s meeting.
The results of another technical subcommittee that convened on Wednesday to study the two new chicken breeds, chaired by Professor Waheed Akin-Hassan were also examined by the NVRC.
According to Akin-Hassan, “The Noiler is a locally-developed dual-purpose chicken, while the Cobb 500 is a meat-type chicken breed.”
Following a lengthy discussion and careful consideration of the suggestions, the NVRC formally declared the new crop varieties and poultry breeds’ registration and release.
Professor Olufajo said the two new chicken breeds are already available to end users, such as poultry farmers, consumers, and researchers.
The Director of the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Dr. Anthony Okere expressed optimism about the potential impact of these releases on food sufficiency in Nigeria.
“The release and registration of the crop varieties will enhance food sufficiency in the country,” Okere said.
He encouraged farmers to use these recently released crops in order to increase the yield quality and production efficiency.
“Embrace these crops to enable you to produce quality and quantity with little stress,” he added.
