Institute for Agircultural Research

Research at IAR is organized into programs. Each research program team is headed by a Leader and the Committee which the Leader presides over is comprised of at least a plant breeder, an agronomist, a soil scientist, a crop protectionist, an agricultural engineer, an agricultural economist/rural sociologist and an extension specialist.

Research at IAR, Samaru is to generate technology, enhance productivity and farm income of farmers especially the small scale holders.  The research and extension programmes have culminated in achieving tremendous successes in the areas of development and fabrication of machine prototypes suited for the North-West agro-ecological zone.  Noteworthy is the wholesale acceptance of our machine prototypes by farmers and farmer cooperatives in both the private and the public sectors.  There are eight programmes; four are crop-based and the other four programmes are supporting with a well coordinated Extension Services Unit.

Crop-Based Programmes

1. Cereals: sorghum, millet, maize, wheat, barley, rice.
2. Legumes and Oilseeds: cowpea, groundnut, bambaranut, soybean, sesame, sunflower, castor.
3. Fibres: cotton, kenaf, roselle and jute.
4. Horticultural crops: onions, pepper, ginger, tomato, citrus, mango, grapevine, roselle, melon and other local vegetables.

Supporting Programmes and Units

1. Agricultural Mechanization:  Undertakes machinery evaluation, equipment development, machinery maintenance and management and provides engineering solutions to agriculture.
2. Irrigation Research:  Undertakes water resources development and management; irrigated cropping systems and environmental impact assessment of irrigation projects.
3. Food Science and Technology Research:  Focuses on Biological quality of food crops, local and industrial processing and monitoring of contaminants and evaluation of essential ingredients.
4. Farming Systems Research:  Studies on-station, on-farm and village level farming systems.
5. Agricultural Extension Services:  It is the gate way of the Institute and the information management centre with responsibilities as follows:   Technology Review Meetings, Workshops and Training, Monitoring and Evaluation, Information Dissemination, Diagnostic and Consultancy Services.

The other Units are:

1. Data Processing Unit
2. Meteorological Unit
3. States Experiments Unit
4. Agricultural Estate Unit
5. Publications and Information Unit
6. Seed Production Unit
7. Agricultural Library
8. Soil survey Unit

Outstations

• Talata Mafara Irrigation Research Station
• Kano Agricultural Research Station
• Kadawa Irrigation Research Station