SEEDCONNECT AFRICA CONFERENCE AND EXPO 2018
The National Agricultural Seeds Council organized a 2-day conference tagged “SeedConnect Conference and Africa Expo 2018” which was held at Rockview Hotel (Royale), Abuja, from June 5th – 6th, 2018.
The conference with the theme, “The Nigerian Seed Industry: Evaluating the Seed Sector and Developing a Sustainable Framework to Bolster the Growth of the Seed Industry” had in attendance the Chief Audu Ogbeh, Honourable Minister of Agric; Board Members of NASC; His Excellency Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Governor of Kebbi State; Members of the National Assembly; His Excellency Nadav Goren, Deputy Ambassador, Israel Embassy; International Partners; over 300 participants from Netherlands, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Switzerland, and others, with over 26 companies showcasing their products.
The Director General, Dr. Phillip Ojo revealed that Nigeria seed sector is capable of generating N2.22 trillion in three years if potentials of the sector can be well harnessed. He said it will require 10,355 metric tons of Early Generation Seeds (EGS) to produce 918, 743 metric tons of Certified Seeds which will in turn produce 103, 079, 253 metric tons of food from 46, 250, 733 hectares for the next three years. This according to him will in turn add N2.2227 trillion to the economy and employ 18,500,293 farm families along agricultural value chains.
Narrating the achievement of the Council within the last few years, the Director General said efforts of the Council has yielded a lot of positive results notably the increased private sector participation in the industry between 2012 to 2016. “To this end the number of accredited seed entrepreneurs in Nigeria rose from 36 in 2010 to 157 in 2016 making Nigeria the leading seed industry in West and Central Africa and over 200 applications at various stages of approval /accreditation.
