March 28, 2022
Researchers at the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria are set to start the National Performance Trial (NPT) for the TELA Maize as part of requirements for the release and registration of the variety.
According to plans by the TELA Maize Project team, the trials will be conducted in 10 states involving 180 farmers across the country within the maize growing belt of Nigeria following the completion of the Confined Field Trials (CFT) at the Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru, Zaria.
Managed by AATF, the TELA Maize is the first genetically modified maize variety in the country to have undergone through CFT in the country.
“The trial is to be carried out in 10 states across the nation’s six Agroecologies and in each location, six sites have been earmarked with a minimum of three farmers selected per site for the trial,” said Prof. Rabiu Adamu, the Principal Investigator for TELA Maize.
Prof. Adamu said that the trials have three main objectives which include the demonstration of the proof of concept to show that the technology works, to show how adoptable the variety is and to generate data from the different agroecologies in the country to enable members of the Variety Release Committee to approve the crop.
The Maize variety is modified to address three specific challenges that had affected maize production in Nigeria. The variety is modified to resist fall army worm, stem borers and mild drought.
Fall Army worm, stem borers and drought are triple challenges that currently reduced maize productivity in Nigeria and as a result, the country currently has a maize deficiency of about 4 million metric tons.
Prof. Adamu said that TELA Maize has the potentials of closing the demand and supply gap significantly if massively adopted in the country.
“The trials so far have shown promising results and we are confident that if the crop is released, it will go a long way in addressing the nation’s deficiency in maize production.
He said that the farmers who will participate in the trials will be randomly selected and will be required to plant the variety on their fields.
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