Farmers in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) say they are confident that Genetically Modified (GM) crops can boost their farm yields.
The farmers, who spoke on the sidelines of the Farmers Field Day on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Kuje, Abuja, called for government’s support in the provision of farm inputs.
The event was organised by National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF).
Mr. Cyprian Ede, who owns three hectares of Tela maize farm, rejected claims that no other crop could be planted or grown where a GM crop was planted.
Tela maize (GM maize) are hybrids genetically engineered to contain Bt genes that protects the maize against insects like stem borer and the fall armyworm and helps the crop tolerate moderate drought.
“At least, I did post emergency weed management which means grass can grow, as you can see.
“I will not waste my money trying to manage grass inside this maize farm; these were grasses on the farm which were cleared.
“As the effect of the post emergency herbicide subsided, grasses started growing on my farm again.’’
Ede, who said he turned to farming due to economic downturn, said he had been in farming since 2017.
He also spoke on the yield of the Tela maize.
“In 10 plots which is a hectare of land, if I should factor in the theft, I think it is about 42 bags,’’ Ede said.
Ede said in comparison with other varieties that yielded relatively good after treating fall armyworm, there was no insect threat in the Tela variety which was also drought tolerant.
He called on the Federal Government to support farmers with farm inputs by subsidising the seeds to enable them to get better yields to bolster the economy.
Mrs. Judith Okpanachi, a beans farmer, said that in her three years of planting Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea, there was no case of other crops unable to grow on the same soil.
Mr. Ndaman Dantani from Chibiri Community said that before he started his two hectares PBR cowpea farm four years ago, he was afraid as a result of the negative claims.
“But when we began using the variety for some years, we realised that there were great advantages over the other ones.
Dantani said one of the advantages was that he was not spending much money on chemicals, unlike conventional bean seeds he sprayed seven to eight times.
“With the PBR variety, you spray less, like two or three times which is more economical.
“Also, during harvest, if you do not harvest on time, it will be falling down and you will lose your farm; but this one, it will wrap and still stand erect.
“And again, the most advantageous part of it is that if you harvest, the leaves will still remain green,’’ Dantani said.
Dantani said PBR farming provided the resources to take care of his family responsibilities such as payment of school fees, feeding, among others.
He urged government to expand the initiative of GM crops to other communities.
“Government should also send more extension agents with this type of seed variety, and they should make the seeds available for the reach of the common man.”
By Sylvester Thompson