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Crop and Seed Production Unit is one the oldest Unit in the Institute. At the early stage, seed production was done in the stations by the Farm Management Unit under the supervision of the Station Management at the Headquarter, Moor Plantation, Ibadan. The stations involved, then, were located at Moor Plantation, Ibadan (Headquarter), and research outstations located in Ikenne (Ogun State), Ilora and Eruwa (in Oyo State). The Institute also had livestock research station in Fashola, in Oyo State. More research stations were later established in Oyo, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Kwara and Delta States to cater for the expansion in research and seed production activities of the Institute.
The farm management which operated as Farm Management Unit (FMU) was at the outstation level later graduated to full-fledged station management (Station Management Unit) in 1973. The Station Management Unit (SMU) was vibrant and productive, thus was upgraded to Seed Production and Testing Service (SPTS) in 1976. This marked the beginning of Crop and Seed Production Unit in the Institute. Several re-organizations had since taken place in the area of research activities, locations, seed production and handling, as well as personnel deployment. For instance, Seed Production, Testing and Certification Programme (SPT&CP) which was formed from SPTS later changed to Crop Utilization Programme in 1989, and existed till 2006 when Seed Processing and Storage was transferred with Seed Testing to Crop Utilization Programme to form Post Harvest Technology Improvement Programme and later named Crop Production Unit (CPU). In June 2019, the nomenclature changed from CPU to Crop and Seed Production Unit (C&SPU) which accommodates activities on making available quality seeds and grains to the users.
The Crop and Seed Production Unit comprises of four sections:
The C&SPU office is located within the Institute in Ibadan with seven outstations located stretching from High Rainforest to the Guinea Savannah agro-ecologies of Nigeria. The outstations are:
The C&SPU’s office has the complements of qualified staff ranging from the Executive Officers to Agricultural and Laboratory Technologists, and Field Staff. The Unit also has many functional modern facilities ranging from field equipment to warehouses and processing sheds stocked with machines, and standard breeder and commercial seed stores. A well-equipped seed testing laboratory is also attached to the Unit for seed quality assurance activities..
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