The Federal Government has pledged to strengthen the seed industry with a view to boost the nation’s food security.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sonny Echono, stated this at the launch of the Nigerian Chapter of the Alliance for Seed Industry in West Africa (ASIWA) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The launching was organised by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development.
Echono noted that efforts must be made to identify relevant issues and remove all bottlenecks to the smooth growth of the seed sector in order to make quality seeds available to farmers.
According to him, government is making effort to determine the type of interventions needed to make quality seed available to poor farmers through sustainable system.
He said that the ministry had done a lot to improve the quality of seeds and the nation’s agricultural sector through the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).
“It is quite heart-warming and a welcome development to note that this is a gathering of key players in the seed industry from the public and private sector.
“To achieve the laudable objectives particularly in the seed sector, it is imperative that NASC as the government agency responsible for seed industry development must be fully supported to perform.
“NASC must come out with specific recommendations, to create a sound level, sustainable dissemination and strategies for improved crops to resource poor farmers in the country,” Echono said.
He said that for the country to achieve the objectives of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda launched in 2011, it was necessary to provide the right policy to protect seed production.
He commended the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) and other development partners who had been collaborating with the ministry to support the seed sector.
Echono disclosed that the Federal Government was planning to train 100 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to ensure production and marketing of good quality seeds by various seed producers.
The permanent secretary said that the Federal Government had also sanctioned by de-listing some seed companies, who supplied adulterated and poor quality seeds to farmers.
“This will serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.
He urged the Seed Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) to expose those who may plan to damage the industry, adding that the seed council may not be everywhere to do this.
Earlier, in an address of welcome, Dr Philip Ojo, Director General, National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) thanked his regional colleagues for their commitment to the development of the seed system.
He said West African countries have been working for many years to develop and implement harmonized rules governing the trade of seeds and other crops inputs.
Ojo, however, appreciated West Africa Seed Programme (WASP) for its initiative in organising the event to bring together stakeholders from government and the private sector to address some challenges in the sector.