The Jigawa State Government has commenced discussions with an Egyptian plant research and development company, EFC Plants, on the adoption of advanced plant tissue culture technology to boost the production of date palms and Irish potatoes in the state.
Governor Umar Namadi led a technical delegation to Cairo, Egypt, as part of the state government’s efforts to transform agriculture through biotechnology, improve access to disease-free planting materials and attract private investment into key agricultural value chains.
During the mission, the delegation inspected EFC Plants’ tissue-culture and biotechnology facilities, including climate-controlled greenhouses, cold-storage facilities with a capacity to handle up to six million plantlets, plant pathology laboratories, sterilisation and preparation facilities, as well as specialised growth and incubation rooms.
According to a statement by Hamisu Mohammad Gumel, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the delegation also received technical briefings on the tissue-culture production process, covering the selection and laboratory testing of mother plants, micropropagation, incubation, rooting, acclimatisation, greenhouse management, storage and preparation of plantlets for commercial distribution.
