In a bid to improve crop production and food sufficiency in Nigeria, there is need to improve the availability of quality seeds and farm culture in the nation, the Managing Director of SEEDCO Mr Kolawole Ladan has said.
Ladan said Nigeria had just been able to adopt about 6-7% adoption of hybrids produce in the country which is a far cry from what it was supposed to be.
Speaking during the finale of the organisation’s ground field day in Kaduna on Thursday, Mr Ladan said feedback from farmers had shown that Nigeria terrain though difficult had shown that the country can be self sufficient if the right approach is applied in food production.
He added that his organisation had been able to surmount the difficulty brought about by climate change by introducing climate change products which are high yielding.
He also said though the government is trying its best in making agriculture marketable, the issue of storage of food storage as well as loan facilities to rural farmers had been a major problem affecting food production in the country.
He added that banks had been shy in availing long term loans to farmers especially in the rural areas which had been the bane of sustainable food production.
He further reiterated that the country needs needs good talents to be able to democratize such talents in order to achieve full food potential in the country.
Also speaking , a staff of the organisation Mr Victor said that SEEDCO is a Nigeria Agro allied company that is research based so that Nigerians can have the benefit of a better yield.
He said that the company had been able to produce quality seeds which had turned around the woes of farmers in Kaduna and the nation in general.
He called on other farmers to cue into the revolution ongoing in agriculture in order to achieve maximum potentials.
A farmer, Mai Ungwan Ado spoke about maize variety seed from SEED-CO, saying, “I want to appreciate and testify about SEED-CO. I was going round to buy seeds, and stumbled on SEED-CO. I collected the seed and planted them in July. I got four bags on a piece of land from two bags. Within two months the harvest is ready. I got free seeds. Because if you are planting on one or two plots the seed will be given to you free. I will continue to patronise SEED-CO. I introduced my community people to SEED-CO because they will direct you on how to go about your farming through the right Agronomists”.
Also testifying, Shamsudeen Bello said, “I came across this company late last year. We have tried many seeds along the way, but SEEDCO is our last bus stop because the seed is the best. We are now cultivating close to 70 hectares”.
For Hajiya Binta, “I used to harvest 13 bags, but when I started planting SEED-CO seeds, I harvested 25 bags. I am most grateful to them”.
