A project under the joint Partnership Programmes of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Türkiye has become a productive gateway for strengthening bilateral relations between Türkiye and Nigeria. Entitled "Support to the Diversification and Sustainable Crop Production Intensification for Smallholder Farmers in the Drylands of Borno State, Nigeria", the project connects relevant institutions in the two countries with the support of FAO. This collaboration promotes sustainable agricultural practices by diversifying cropping systems and fostering sustainable crop management techniques for drylands in the state. The ultimate goal is to transform agrifood systems in Borno State, Nigeria, where the livelihoods of 5.6 million people largely depend on small-scale subsistence agriculture.
As part of the project activities, a delegation from Nigeria visited Ankara from 29 July to 3 August. This visit accelerated the efficient implementation of the project, which will run until July 2025 with a budget of USD 200,000.
The visit began with a preliminary evaluation meeting at the Field Crops Central Research Institute, which is a project partner operating under the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye. Agriculture experts from the institute and FAO reviewed the project's progress and finalized the visit program. Following the meeting, the project team, along with relevant experts, visited laboratories, greenhouses and the institute's research fields. Within the scope of the program, the project team also had the opportunity to visit the Seed Gene Bank, the Research Centre for Plant-Based Food and the Biotechnology Research Centre at the institute.
On the second day of their visit, the Nigerian delegation was invited to participate in discussions at the Directorate General for European Union and Foreign Relations, the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies and the General Directorate of Plant Production. During these discussions, the delegation and experts exchanged experiences and ideas on the project's implementation and explored potential new areas of collaboration between the two countries.
On the third day, a visit was organized to the Research and Seed Production Farm of the Field Crops Central Research Institute in Ikizce village, Golbasi district. At the farm, the visiting delegation was shown demonstration plots of high-value crops suitable for dryland agriculture as well as research equipment and seed preparation units. Two scientists from the Institute, Abdülkadir Aydoğan and Reyhan Bahtiyarca Bağdat, offered detailed information on breeding programs on grain legumes and medicinal and aromatic plants, respectively.
On the last day of the program, a training workshop was held at the FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia on "Crop Diversification, Seed Production and Conservation Agriculture in Drylands". During the workshop, presentations were given on the principles of conservation agriculture and seed production techniques, particularly in grain legumes and medicinal and aromatic plants. In addition, the progress of the project activities was evaluated and the next steps in project implementation were discussed.
In his closing remarks, Lead Technical Officer Fazıl Düşünceli emphasized that the project will facilitate the introduction of new valuable crops to Nigeria from Türkiye as well as the exchange of expertise in dryland agriculture, opening up new avenues for further collaboration between the two countries. Düşünceli also highlighted the contribution of the project to one of the strategic objectives of FAO, notably to achieve better production, as well as to the Global Programme on Sustainable Dryland Agriculture and efforts to empower smallholders and promote food system transformation and agricultural innovation.
Source: fao.org