By Nura Garba
The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Maruf Alausa, has commended the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA) of Bayero University, Kano, for its exceptional contributions to agricultural research, innovation and human capital development in Africa.
The Minister made the commendation during his visit to the CDA exhibition booth at the launch of the ACE Alliance and Compendium on key Achievements of Africa Centres of Excellence in Nigeria, held on Monday, 3rd November 2025, at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja.
Visibly impressed by the Centre’s remarkable innovations and research outputs, Dr Alausa expressed admiration for CDA’s leadership in advancing scientific solutions that directly address food security and sustainable agricultural development across the continent.
Welcoming the Minister to the booth, the Director of CDA, Professor Sanusi Gaya Mohammed, briefed him on the Centre’s achievements and ongoing projects, highlighting its extensive impact in training students across Africa. Professor Sanusi informed the Minister that CDA was the very Centre he had earlier referenced in his speech for recruiting students from 15 African countries, thereby fostering regional integration and cross-border collaboration in agricultural research and innovation.
He also introduced two of the Centre’s international students to the Minister — Reheme Mrutu from the Republic of Tanzania (PhD) and Adam Goulgoul from Niger (MSc) — both of whom represent CDA’s growing network of regional scholars contributing to dryland agriculture solutions.
Professor Sanusi further showcased some of the Centre’s groundbreaking research initiatives, including the biofortification of sorghum varieties enriched with iron and zinc to tackle micronutrient deficiencies in dryland communities. He explained how CDA’s work on soil fertility assessment and the development of a digital fertiliser advisory application has revolutionised extension services by offering farmers real-time, crop-specific recommendations on the type and timing of fertiliser application.
He emphasised that such innovations not only improve crop productivity but also contribute to soil health, environmental sustainability, and nutrition security in vulnerable regions.
Impressed by these achievements, Dr Alausa praised CDA’s visionary approach to research and innovation. He urged the Centre to strengthen collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant agencies to scale up and commercialise its technologies, noting that such efforts would reduce nutrient over-application, protect soil quality, and boost national food production.
“The Centre for Dryland Agriculture has demonstrated how research can translate into real-life solutions for our farmers and our environment. This is the kind of excellence Nigeria needs to nurture,” the Minister remarked.
The CDA delegation to the event comprised ten members led by Professor Sanusi Gaya Mohammed, reaffirming the Centre’s strong presence and leadership among Nigeria’s Africa Centres of Excellence.
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