Following the report by the International Seed Federation (ISF) that Nigeria’s seed sector is not yet viable in seed growth, the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has said that it will be committing about $2 million to fund the production of quality early generation seeds for farmers across the country. Taiwo Hassan looks at the merits.
As the rain-fed farming season for this year begins, there is nothing very important to Nigerian farmers than having access to quality and right variety of seeds that will ensure that their expectations for enhanced yields and bumper harvest is not truncated during the harvesting period.
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In its latest 2019 Access to Seed Index report by Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation, it was revealed that Nigeria has around N130 billion ($450 million) in terms of seed deficit in production. The international seed rating agency also stated that Nigeria’s seed production stood at 800,000 metric tonnes with production unit at 400,000 metric tonnes
The above figures mean that the Federal Government and the private sector have to intensify seed production in a bid to meet national demand. Particularly, the survey showed that Africa represents two per cent of the global seed production, with global seed business valued at $50 billion.
