The National Cereals Research Institute is the oldest Research Institute in the Country. It was originally founded by the Lagos Colonial Protectorate Administration of Governor Alfred Moloney in 1898. It was named the Federal Agricultural Station by the Lugard Administration in 1915. It later metamorphosed to Federal Department of Agricultural Research in 1945 with a mandate to carry out research on all agricultural crops and farming systems throughout the Country. By decree 13 of 1975, it assumed its present name National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) and was given the mandate to conduct research into the genetic improvement and production of the major stable grains like rice, maize, cowpea and sugarcane. The re-organization of the agricultural research system in 1987 gave NCRI new mandate crops which were Rice, Soybean, Beniseed, Sugarcane, and the farming system in the Middle belt Zone
comprising of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Research is conducted in ten (10) outstations located in different parts of the country: Ibadan, (Oyo State), Amakama-olokoro (Abia State), Uyo Ubo-ukuku (Akwa-Ibom State), Warri (Delta State), Bacita (Kwara State), Mokwa (Niger State), Birnin – Kebbi (Kebbi State), Numan (Adamawa State), Yandev (Benue State) and Riyom (Plateau State). On-farm adaptive trials are conducted multilocationally, particularly in the central zone. This ensures that our results are applicable in the different ecologies in the country.
Key Mandates of the Institute
The Institute has the mandate to conduct research into the genetic improvement of rice, soybean, beniseed, acha, castor and sugarcane as well as overall farming systems and resource management research and extension in the Middle Belt Zone of Nigeria comprising of 8 states (Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja)
Lists of Mandate Crops and Others