AFAN: Eight million Nigerian farmers to benefit from SAMPEA 20-T

The All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has said that about eight million Nigerian farmers and their families will benefit directly from cultivating the newly launched pod borer resistant cowpea variety called SAMPEA20-T.

AFAN President, Arc. Kabiru Ibrahim said at the launch of SAMPEA 20-T in Kano (June 29) that the launch is of great importance to Nigerian farmers who will be planting the new variety as well as the African continent where many millions consume cowpea daily.

“I understand that Nigeria is the first country in the whole world to commercialise this variety of cowpea and hitherto, yield losses of 70-80 per cent are commonplace due to pod borer infestation on cowpea but the development and release of SAMPEA 20-T completely mitigates this phenomenon,” the President told the audience at the launch.

He urged farmers to embrace the variety and vigorously cultivate it to become prosperous. “I have personally tried the variety on my farm and can therefore attest to its potential to take the Nigerian farmer out of poverty as well as contribute immensely to the quest for food security in Nigeria.

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