As the Federal Government seeks to ensure food security in Nigeria, the Acting Director General, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) Dr. Ishiaku Khalid has revealed that the nation now has about 500 Seeds companies.
This is even as he also revealed that the Council has been supporting seed companies that are qualified to establish outlets in the rural communities to ensure farmers have access to quality seed.
Khalid also said support from the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has boosted the acceptability of Nigeria seeds at the international market as well as enhanced access to quality seeds by smallholder farmers.
The acting DG stated this during a stakeholder review and validation meeting cum socialization of achievements made through the support of AGRA and the Partnership for Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA) towards implementation of NASC Act 2019 and the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021
He said AGRA continues to play a role in the food security system in Nigeria, and has been supporting the Council in staff training, equipping of their laboratories as well as provision of equipment.
He stated that through AGRA support, the Council has been able to reposition its laboratories so they can test seeds just like any other country involved in seed trade, saying this would further increase acceptability of Nigeria seed in any part of the world.
He recalled instances where Nigeria agricultural products have been rejected because of lack of traceability, emphasizing that traceability starts from the seed, and if the source of seeds planted are not known people tend to ask questions when given the end product to eat.
The AG Director General stressed the need to reposition the council to bridge the gap so that from seed up to the final product can be traced as the final product will be determined by the quality of seed.
The Country Director of AGRA Dr Kehinde Makinde said the body has been supporting the Council in the implementation of the seed act and to ensure the country has a strong regulatory body
He said the event was to socialize the bridge investment with their partners so as to better prepare them for implementation.
Makinde stressed that farmers need to have access to good quality seeds so they can get good return on investment, adding that AGRA has been working to keep fake seeds out of the market.
He said “if we don’t do that farmers can buy poor quality seeds and expect good quality returns, some of them buy grains and expect huge returns that will not happen. That is why we are working to ensure that the quality of seeds in the market is top notch.
The former Managing Director of Kenya Seed stated that Nigeria’s plan to have a quality seed system is a good statement coming from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because all goods begin with seed.
He however, stressed the need for the country to boost its seed policy, seed law and seed regulation, saying seed policy is important to provide specific directions for the sector, and that it is important that all the documents don’t contradict each other but
working together to have a robust seed sector in Nigeria.
