A new data driven agriculture initiative is set to help Nigerian farmers choose crop varieties that perform best across different agro ecological zones.
Isaiah Gabrield Executive Director, Foundation for Sustainable Smaller Solutions, FSSS, said the project is designed to replace guesswork in seed selection with reliable performance evidence.
Speaking at the official launch and stakeholder engagement event tagged, “Using Performance Data to Promote Better Seed Varieties in Nigeria”, which held in Abuja recently, he said farmers often struggle not because of poor effort but because they lack access to trusted information on what varieties suit their soil, climate and market conditions.
“The initiative is supported by the Gates Foundation and focuses on evaluating seed varieties using multi year performance data.
“It aims to guide farmers, commercial growers, seed companies, processors and policy actors toward better decisions that can improve productivity across value chains.” he said
According to Gabriel, the project currently targets key crops including rice, maize and cowpea. Varieties are being assessed over three years through head to head comparisons to determine yield, resilience and adaptability across environments.
He said the work cuts across major agro ecological zones in Nigeria including the north east, north west, north central, south east and south west, covering at least 12 States.
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He explained that many varieties show strong potential yields on paper but perform differently on farmers’ fields. The project therefore focuses on real field performance rather than assumptions.
He said the goal is to identify which released varieties actually deliver the best results for specific locations.
Gebre noted that the initiative is not limited to one organization, adding it depends on collaboration among seed companies, researchers, extension systems, market actors and farmers. He added that the platform is intended to be practical, credible and sustainable, with data translated into action at farm and policy levels.
Also speaking, Eric Nyikwagh, partnership and grants manager, FSSS, said the project seeks to generate variety performance data for rice, maize and cowpea across 13 states. He said rice is the entry crop this year, while maize and cowpea will be added in subsequent phases.
Nyikwagh said seeds account for about 30 to 40% of productivity outcomes, making access to quality seed critical.
He added that the project works with research agencies, the national variety database and seed companies to test both released and unreleased varieties under real conditions.
Peter Dama, chairman, a participant at the event , said the initiative would benefit all actors in the rice value chain.
He said farmers, millers and aggregators would gain clearer information on which varieties suit upland or lowland systems, resist disease, tolerate flooding and deliver the grain quality demanded by markets.
He added that better varietal information would also improve rice milling outcomes, helping millers achieve consistent grain quality and appearance.
Stakeholders at the engagement agreed that reliable performance data is essential to improving yields, strengthening value chains and ensuring Nigerian crops are more competitive.
The project team said continued collaboration and open feedback would be key to achieving long term impact.
