National Agricultural Seeds Council inaugurates Seed Inspectors in Kano

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The National Agricultural Seeds Council on Monday in Kano inaugurated seed inspectors to rid and sanitise the seed industry of fake and adulterated products.

The Director-General of NASC, Dr. Phillip Olusegun Ojo, who inaugurated the inspectors urged them to arrest and prosecute anybody or organisations that contravened any of the subsisting laws.

Ojo said the inspectors would help in sanitising the industry and carrying out regular sensitisation of stakeholders to reposition the industry.

He said the council had directed its seed law enforcement officers nationwide to commence full scale surveillance and enforcement of the provisions of the seed act.

Anyone, organisation or agency who engages in any seed related activity without proper recourse to the act will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

It is expected that the inspectors will bring the required sanity to the seed industry and make quality seeds and seedlings available to the teeming farmers that will translate it into higher yields and income, he said.

He said six inspectors were selected from each of the six zones of the country to head the monitoring groups.

On his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said quality seed was paramount to enhancing agricultural productivity, adding that it contributed more than 50 per cent of increased crop productivity per unit area.

This government through seed council has over the years engaged in regulating the activities of seed producing entities aimed at ensuring that enough quantities of improved quality seeds are available for farmers use, he said.

Ogbeh said the seed inspectorate unit would help in repositioning the country’s seed industry.

He however, warned fake and adulterated seed dealers that it was no longer business as usual.

According to him, the authority will not hesitate to deal with those who continue to sabotage the efforts of government toward food security.

The Minister also warned henceforth that the federal government would arrest and prosecute owners of companies that sell fake and sub-standard seeds to farmers.

DG NASC AND SEEDAN VISITS ACTING PRESIDENT, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO

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The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday June 6th, 2017, received a delegation of the Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Phillip Ojo and the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN), led by its President Mr. Richard Olafare.

Prof. Osinbajo assured the delegation that the Federal Government would do much more in the area of agriculture; he stated that fertilizer and seed inputs are vital for the “agricultural revolution” that the Buhari administration is delivering.

The Ag. President also assured members of SEEDAN that the government will look into the issue of the money owed to the seed companies during the 2014/2015 GES Scheme.

EARLY GENERATION SEEDS WORKSHOP 2017

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The Workshop on Early Generation Seed (EGS) with the theme: “Addressing Critical Issues of Early Generation Seed Varieties in Nigeria in Line with the Green Alternative Agenda of Government” organized by the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), was held on 6th to 7th March, 2017 at Chelsea Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja.

Participants were drawn from International and National Agricultural Research Centres, Universities, Seed Companies, Financial Institutions, Donor Agencies/ Development Partners, Eminent Scientists, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), NABDA, NBMA, WAAPP, WASP, IFAD/VCDP, and Members of the Press.

The Director General, NASC, Dr. Phillip Ojo, in his welcome address stated that it is in a bid to find solution to the multifarious challenges bedevilling the production and delivery of Early Generation Seeds (EGS) in the National Seed System that NASC has assembled eminent scientists, breeders, researchers, policy makers and key stakeholders in the workshop to brainstorm and proffer solutions that will help in tackling these challenges and make available adequate quantities of quality EGS varieties in the National Seed System sustainably.

Speaking on the challenges of Early Generation ‎Seeds, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, in his keynote address said “the seed system of many food and industrial crops are collapsing due to inadequate quantities and poorly coordinated systems,”  adding ‎ that cotton had suffered the same fate among other crops.

He further stressed that the stakeholders’ workshop was aimed at finding a solution to the trend as it was not acceptable.”

The Minister further said “addressing the challenges of making available quality Early Generation Seeds in the seed value chain is critical to achieving the goals of the Green Alternative Agenda of this administration to attain self-sufficiency in our local staples.”

NATIONAL SEED PLANNING WORKSHOP 2016

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The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) in collaboration with CORAF/WECARD and West Africa Seed Program(WASP) is Organizing a National Workshop For Developing a Rapid Action Plan For Quality Seed Production and Presentation of the Alliance for a Seed Industry in West Africa (ASIWA) Nigeria Chapter.

The objective of the workshop include:

  1. To Address immedaite need for quality seed in the country and to develop a plan for the development of the Seed Sector in Nigeria beyond 2016
  2. To Share and Sensitize Stakeholder in the Nigeria Seed Industry on the (ASIWA) Concept for by in

Date: 7th-8th April,2016

Venue: Chelsea Hotel,Abuja,Nigeria

Time: 9;00am Prompt

NASC WARNS AGRO FIRMS, DEALERS ON ADULTERATED SEEDS DISTRIBUTION

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The National Agricultural seeds Council, NASC, has warned all seed producers against distribution of fake seeds to the Nigerian farmers. The agency also urged local and foreign operators to register their seed companies or face the consequences of non -compliance.

This warning was given at the South West Market Sensitization and Educational Enlightenment Programmed organized by the Council in Ibadan, Oyo State to rid the market of spurious seed Dealers.

The Director General of NASC, Dr. Olusegun Ojo, noted that despite the campaign against the distribution of adulterated seeds to farmers, there have been more cases of such act among some Agro dealers and other seed producing companies. He explained that such seeds have affected the productivity of the nation’s agricultural sector as many farmers were not able to reap commensurate harvest from their farms.

According to him, for any seeds to be sold in the country, such seeds must have gone through seed quality assurance process by the Council, while the distribution firms must also abide by some regulatory conditions. For instance, the Council boss explained that all seeds must be packed in good condition without being mixed with other varieties and that each packed bag of seeds must contain the tag of the Council as well as the company’s label.

The DG said that the Council had accredited 157 seed companies of different categories, which include four large-scale, nine medium scale and about 67 small scale seed companies “This registration is so important because “if you don’t get it right, farmers will get very bad productivity. So, it is extremely important that they get it right. As part of efforts to sanitize the seed industry, already, we have delisted three defaulting seed companies “he said.

STAKEHOLDERS TO UPDATE NATIONAL DATABASE ON SEED PRODUCTION

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The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) and other stakeholders in the seed industry are set to update the national data base on community based seed Production (CBSP) activities nationwide while creating awareness on community seed production. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arch Sonny Echono, spoke in Abuja at the Workshop on Community Seed Production Programme. organized by NASC.The Permanent Secretary attributed the use of poor quality seed by farmers to lack of awareness on availability of better performing crop varieties that are high yielding, disease and drought tolerant.
The Director General NASC, Dr Phillip Olusegun Ojo, traced the history of the programme back to 1993 as a promotional tool to ensure lateral spread and diffusion of improved seed in the rural communities so as to create access to improved seed varieties as a replacement for farmers saved seed.
He further explained that the programme was designed to create market opportunities in the rural communities for seed companies that are engaged in certified seed production and marketing, adding that the CBSP has been used by various development partners/projects in making available improved seed to farmers in their project areas.