NASC, PERL-DFID AGRICULTURAL SEEDS MEDIA DIALOGUE
The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) had a one-day Agricultural Seeds Media Dialogue at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on May 31st, 2018. The aim of the dialogue is to forge a strong and formidable partnership with the media in the renewed campaign of the Council to establish a market-driven seed industry for the production and distribution of high quality seeds and improved planting materials, accessible and affordable to farmers in Nigeria.
Speaking at the meeting, organized by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL-DFID), in collaboration with the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), in Abuja, the Director General, Dr. Phillip Olusegun Ojo, represented by Mr. Khalid Ishiak (Director, Seed Certification and Quality Control), reiterated that partnering with the media to ensure not only the availability, but also of accessibility and affordability of quality seeds to farmers in the country, had become absolutely necessary to grow the sector and move the Nigerian economy forward.
While expressing delight about the maiden edition of the Agricultural Seeds Media Dialogue, the Director General remarked that “NASC as the agency responsible for the regulation of the Nigeria seed industry, is empowered by the Seeds Act of 1992 with the main objective of ensuring the availability of quality seeds to farmers through effective regulation of players in the seed sector”.
He stressed the importance of quality seeds delivery, disclosing that “seed contributes about 60% to the productivity index of any crop, meaning that planting poor quality seeds is a recipe to failure, no matter the quantity of other inputs”
The Director General praised the efforts of PERL-DFID specifically for strategically advocating for small holder farmers’ increased access to improved inputs and quality seeds, a move which he said is in consonance with the drive of NASC to reach out to the rural and urban farmers.
