Ellah Lakes announces signing of seed production, technical support agreement

• Published date: 10 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Ellah Lakes Plc. has announced the signing of seed production and technical support agreement between Adani staple crop processing zone food company limited, a subsidiary of Ellah Lakes and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on a seed multiplication program.

The first phase, will involve the production of high yielding soybean seed varieties on five hectares of land located in IITA Ibadan, and subsequently, on five hundred (500) hectares of land located in Adani, Enugu State.

The partnership agreement between both companies will facilitate the production of premium quality soybean seedlings for cultivation at Adani SCPZ in Enugu State with IITA providing all the technical support required to produce the seedlings for the company.

In a statement, it said: 'This improved variety of breeder seeds is expected to yield 2.5 metric tons of quality soybean per hectare, a 150% higher than the Nigerian national average of 1.0 metric ton per hectare and at par with output in South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina.

'Soybean is an important source of plant-based protein that contains dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. Soybean consists of 20% oil, making it an important crop for producing edible oil.

'A by-product from the oil production, soymeal, is used as a high-protein animal feed in the poultry and aquaculture industries. The demand for soybean in...