Poly Ibadan Staffs To Receive Special Hybrid Tomatoe Seedlings Courtesy Of A Research Work Outcomes Of A Professor Of Plant Breeding And Crop Productions 

A Professor of Plant Breeding and Crop Production, Professor Victor Olawale Adetimirin, will on Friday 2nd of May, distribute ten Synbiotic Treated Tomatoes Seedlings each to Two hundred and fifty Staff of The Polytechnic, Ibadan for planting in their backyards.

The Professor who is the Principal Investigator of the European Union funded Urbane project in the University of Ibadan, noted during a courtesy call on the Acting Rector of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Dr Taiwo Abideen Lasisi on Monday 28th of April 2025, that the Urbane project has as its goal,the pursuit of one-health approach to support Agroecological Farming.

He noted that the Research work has huge benefit in terms of increased Productivity, Safety of Agricultural Produce(crops and livestocks)through reduction in the use of pesticides and antibiotics, reduction in the use of inorganic fertilizers and promotion of safe environment.

“As part of the dissemination of our research results,we plan to give free ten synbiotic-inoculated tomatoe seedlings to each of 500 staff of the University of Ibadan, 250 staff of the College of Medicine and 250 staff of The Polytechnic,Ibadan.

“The ten seedlings if well managed,should meet the tomatoe needs of a family of five for six to eight weeks.This is our modest contribution to efforts to mitigate the hardships occasioned by the prevailing economic conditions in Nigeria.

“We consider this initiative to be a landmark and the first of such in Nigerian Universities/Research institutes”,the Professor further told the Acting Rector of The

Polytechnic, Ibadan.

In his response, the Acting Rector of The Polytechnic,Ibadan, Dr Taiwo Abideen Lasisi commended the Initiative of the university Don,in the area of Increased Productivity of Tomatoes.

He noted that by calculation,between the three institutions whose staff will benefit a total of 10,000 seedlings at ten seedlings per person will take care of 500 families.

Dr Lasisi further said that if each of the families in the entire country has ten stands of tomatoes,ten stands of pepper among others as part of their backyard farming,the revolution against hunger and scarcity of food would have started.

He promised to lead by example by planting and nurturing the tomatoes already made available to him for planting, and expressed the hope that all other beneficiaries in the three institutions will equally plant and nurture the seedlings that will be given to them free,adding that nothing is actually free as somebody somewhere must have paid for it.

E-SiGNED

Soladoye Adewole,

Public Relations Officer,

The Polytechnic Ibadan.

29th of April,2025.