By: Lanre Shodimu
As Nigeria intensifies efforts to strengthen food security, improve rural livelihoods and boost agribusiness opportunities, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) is deepening interventions in the horticulture sector through the promotion of improved plantain and banana varieties capable of enhancing productivity and reducing post-harvest losses.
The National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, has trained 67 farmers under the Agric Mate Farewell to Poverty Association of Nigeria on rapid multiplication techniques and orchard management practices for newly developed plantain and banana varieties known as HORTIPLAN and HORTIBAN.
The training programme, held in Ile-Ife, Osun State, brought together stakeholders across the plantain and banana value chain, including men, women and youths from farming communities within the state.
The improved varieties, recently registered and released by NIHORT, are designed to combine high yield potential with strong suckering ability, tolerance to nematodes and weevils, as well as extended shelf life. The varieties are also suitable for boiling, frying, roasting and flour production, while adapting effectively to diverse agro-ecological zones across the country.
Participants underwent both theoretical and practical sessions facilitated by NIHORT scientists and technologists. The training modules focused on rapid multiplication methods, orchard establishment and management, pest and disease control, production economics, record keeping and marketing strategies.
Speaking during the programme, the Executive Director of NIHORT, Prof. Muhammad Attanda, represented by the Head of Farming Systems and Extension Department, Dr. Iyabo Adeoye, said the initiative was aimed at supporting the Federal Government’s drive towards improved agricultural productivity, enhanced food security and rural economic development.
She explained that the programme would help increase productivity within the plantain and banana subsector, reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ incomes.
According to her, plantain remains one of Nigeria’s major food security crops and a dependable source of livelihood for smallholder farmers because it requires relatively low capital investment compared to several other cash crops.
Adeoye noted that nearly all soil types across Nigeria are suitable for plantain cultivation, making the crop strategic for agribusiness expansion and national food security.
She further highlighted the importance of plantain and banana as raw materials for value-added products such as confectionery flour, infant food and processed chips.
The NIHORT official stressed the need for sustained capacity building and stronger stakeholder collaboration to encourage widespread adoption of improved varieties, including HORTIPLAN1, HORTIPLAN2, HORTIBAN1 and HORTIBAN2.
She said increased adoption of the improved varieties would significantly scale up production, value addition and market access across the horticultural value chain.
Participants were encouraged to apply the knowledge acquired during the training to improve productivity and strengthen their agribusiness operations.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman of Agric Mate Farewell to Poverty Association, Chief Isaac Omidiora, and the Secretary, Mr. Abdul Haleem Sulyman, commended the Federal Government and NIHORT for the intervention, describing it as timely and impactful for plantain and banana farmers in the state.
They also praised the institute for developing improved horticultural varieties aimed at strengthening national food security and enhancing farmers’ livelihoods.
At the end of the programme, participants received certificates of participation, training manuals and suckers of the newly released plantain and banana varieties.
The initiative forms part of NIHORT’s ongoing public engagement and extension efforts aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda on food security, agricultural transformation and job creation.
