FAO CONTRIBUTES 55.2M TO FACILITATE SEED PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

The
Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) says it has
contributed 345,000 dollars
(about N55.2 million) to enhance
and strengthen seeds production
in Nigeria.
Dr Louise Setshwaelo, the FAO
Country Representative, made
this known in Abuja on
Wednesday at the workshop on
`Strengthening National Seed
Systems in Nigeria’.
The two-year project, in
partnership with the National
Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC),
Setshwaelo said, would increase
the adoption rate of improved
seeds by smallholder farmers,
improve income and ensure food
security in the country.
Cue in audio 1
``To produce food, you need
seeds; you cannot produce rice,
millet sorghum without using
seeds; seeds are key to food
production, particularly when
you look at crops.
``The main problem that we have
is that farmers do not have
access to high quality seeds,
which increase production.
``The focus of this project is to
see how we can improve access
of high quality seeds to farmers,
especially to the smallholder
farmers who are our main food
producers.
``Seeds production is key to food
security; it is a very important
component in terms of
increasing agricultural
production.
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She said the project would be
rolled out in five pilot states:
Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Sokoto
and Jigawa, with four staple
crops.
She explained that the project
would focus on rice in Ebonyi,
maize in Kaduna and Ondo as
well as sorghum and millet in
Sokoto and Jigawa.
The country representative
expressed optimism that at the
end of the project in 2015, the
seeds law would have been
updated to international
standard and community seeds
production would have been
increased.
Cue in audio 2
``We are hoping by the end of
2015, we would have updated
the seed law which will now
need to go to parliament.
``Ours is to assist government
and the Ministry of Agriculture
and its stakeholders to update
the seed law, to harmonise it
with seed laws in the ECOWAS
region to make sure that it is also
harmonised with international
standards.
``We will like to see improvement
in community seeds production,
helping the communities who
are producing seeds to be able
to look at the quality aspect, to
be better organised, to be more
efficient.
``We are looking at developing a
strategy for improving private
sector participation in the seed
industry.
``Hopefully, by the end of the
project, it will not just be a
strategy in place; we would have
started the implementation of
some of the components of that
strategy.
``We are also looking at public
awareness; how do we
empower the farmers to know
the difference between high
quality certified seeds and what
someone is selling in the market
as grain but passing it off as
seed.
``They should be more
empowered to make that
difference and also have access
to high quality seeds.’’
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She envisaged that the main
limitation could be sustainability
of the project’s objectives by
stakeholders after 2015.
In his remark, Mr Olusegun
Olatokun, the Coordinating
Director, NASC, said the
collaboration would further
enhance the acceptability of high
quality seeds at the grassroots.
He stressed that the project
would improve quality control
and certification of seed
suppliers as well as promote
private sector investment in the
industry.
Olatokun said that within the
two years of the project,
rigorous public awareness
events on the benefits of
improved seeds would be
created.
The News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) reports that the workshop
had about 50 participants in
attendance comprising seeds
companies, research institutes,
commodity associations and
agriculturalists.
We can only hope that this fund goes through the proper channels as to improve our agro sector