Research Efforts:

Over the years, the research for development activities of the Institute are carried out at Departmental, Programme, Sectional and Unit levels, using experienced scientists and supporting staff with different backgrounds and disciplines in Agricultural Sciences.

As a way of ensuring that results obtained are applicable in the various agro-ecological zones of Nigeria, field trials are conducted at the Institute’s ten (10) outstations scattered in different parts of the country as afore-mentioned.

The Institute collaborates actively with scientists from other Agricultural Research Institutes in Nigeria as well as International Research Organizations, Universities, Advanced Research Laboratories, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), other relevant private and public concerns, States and Local Governments and Multinational Corporate Companies.

RESEARCH FOCUS

• Breeding and varietal maintenance of our mandate crops
• Agronomic Practices for the cultivation of our mandate crops
• Soil improvement practices
• Crop Protection Practices
• Adding values to our mandate crops through processing and utilizations
• Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of our research activities
• Diagnostic and thematic surveys
• Socio – Economic studies
• Dissemination of Research Results

Farming Systems Research and Extension:

The Programme concerns itself with development of sustainable low input improved agricultural technologies without degrading the environment, adding values to the farming enterprises; reduce the

drudgery of labour in crop production and dissemination of low input technologies to the farmers and other stake holders in Nigeria through MTRM, other training activities, distribution of crop production and processing extension guides, exhibition, trade fairs and Agricultural shows.

Specifically, some of the areas where we have made impacts include the following:

• Soil fertility maintenance using green manure plants.
• Efficient soil and water management strategies for upland crops production and the different crop based farming systems.
• Agronomic practices.

• Increased land use productivity through dry season vegetable production after some main crops in the inland valleys and flood plains.
• Striga management approaches.
• Conduct of both thematic and diagnostic surveys for major farming systems.
• Trained farmers, extension staff of ADPs on rice, sugarcane, soybean and beniseed production and processing technologies including students on industrial attachments and excursions.
• Conduct of workshops, seminars and organize conferences on crops production and processing.

• Coordination of REFILs activities in the middle belt zone, intervention projects like RTEP, Doubling maize, Rice initiatives, IVC and SPIRIVWA Projects.
• Production and distribution of Extension Guides for our mandate crops.
• Development, exhibition and demonstration of the different recipes from our mandate crops.
• Provision of both foundation and certified seeds of the Institute’s mandate crops to other scientists, farmers, government and NGOs.