The President of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), Jude Mbanasor, has called for stronger collaboration among researchers, government, farmers and private-sector players to translate agricultural innovations into practical solutions for food security and farmers’ prosperity.
Mbanasor made the call in Abuja at the opening of the society’s 60th Annual Conference and Diamond Jubilee, where stakeholders identified innovation, resilience and strategic partnerships as essential to transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
The three-day event, hosted by the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), is themed “Feeding the Future: Scaling Innovation, Resilience and Partnerships in Nigerian Agriculture.”
Mbanasor said agriculture’s contribution extended beyond food production to include employment, livelihoods, nutrition, industrial raw materials, rural development and economic growth.
He stressed that Nigeria needed an agricultural system capable of meeting the food needs of its growing population, improving farmers’ incomes and withstanding emerging economic and environmental pressures.
He urged participants to move beyond research presentations and focus on actionable recommendations supported by appropriate policies, investment and partnerships.
“Feeding the future requires that we act today,” he said, adding that decisions taken at present would shape the prospects of future generations of farmers, agricultural scientists and agribusiness entrepreneurs.
The ASN president called for a system that would enable Nigerian farmers to increase productivity, improve their earnings and build resilience against emerging challenges.
Also speaking, the Director-General of NBRDA, Abdullahi Mustapha, said Nigeria’s agricultural challenge was not the absence of scientific innovations but the difficulty of expanding proven technologies for widespread adoption.
He identified biotechnology as an important tool for agricultural development, citing its potential to provide improved planting materials, rapid diagnostic tools for crop and livestock diseases, biofertilisers, biopesticides and technologies for reducing post-harvest losses.
Mustapha explained that research findings could only deliver meaningful benefits when supported by effective extension services, appropriate regulation, quality assurance, financing, infrastructure and local manufacturing capacity.
“The central challenge is scale,” he said, urging research institutions, universities, government agencies, private investors and development partners to strengthen cooperation in taking innovations from laboratories to farms and markets.
He also called for resilience to be incorporated into agricultural production and distribution systems to mitigate the effects of climate variability, emerging pests and diseases, land degradation, water shortages and disruptions to global supply chains.
According to him, increased investment in climate-smart agriculture, genetic resource conservation, soil restoration, efficient water management and early-warning systems would help strengthen Nigeria’s food systems.
Mustapha further urged stakeholders to create more opportunities for young people in emerging fields such as genomics, bioinformatics, precision agriculture, seed systems, digital extension services and food processing.
He emphasised that farmers should participate in the development of agricultural technologies rather than be treated merely as recipients of innovations.
The Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Rose Gidado, said the conference offered an opportunity to bridge the gap between agricultural research and the practical needs of farmers, consumers and agribusinesses.
Gidado, who is also Director of NBRDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Department, said the value of research should be assessed by its ability to address farmers’ challenges, improve livelihoods and strengthen food security.
She described quality seeds as a fundamental requirement for successful crop production and called for stronger links among researchers, breeders, seed producers, regulators, distributors and entrepreneurs to improve farmers’ access to reliable planting materials.
She also urged scientists, policymakers, farmers and private-sector operators to deepen engagement so that research findings could lead to improved farming methods, more efficient processing and storage, and expanded market opportunities.
Gidado said the conference’s impact would depend not only on the quality of presentations but also on the partnerships established and practical measures implemented after the event.
The conference, which runs from October 20 to 22, brings together researchers, farmers, policymakers, agribusiness operators, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for advancing Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
