WAAPP plots seeds strategy road map for Nigeria – sets to collaborate with private seeds producers.

[FMINigeria]

                        The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), is set to assist Nigeria develop an enduring road map for the local production of foundation and certified seeds for use by the Nigerian farmers, through collaboration with private seed companies.

Speaking at an interactive meeting held to enable private seed producers meet on one on one basis with the visiting World Bank Implementation Support Mission in Abuja on Thursday, 11th April, 2013, the lead agricultural economist and regional WAAPP task team leader, Dr. Abdoulaye Toure disclosed that WAAP-Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council  (NASP), will be setting up a task force that could meet quickly and come out with an action plan on massive production of varieties breeder foundation and certified seeds for the country.

Dr. Abdoulaye Toure observed that in the face of the current deficit in the supply of breeder foundation and certified agricultural seeds to the country; it has become necessary to strategize for a seed road map for the country by adopting a transformative change approach.  This, he said can be achieved through creating a network of vibrant and enterprising seed breeders, mainly of the private sector, who can effectively work in collaboration with WAAPP and the Agricultural Seed Council in Nigeria. He observed with concern the appalling gap between agricultural production capacities in the West African sub region which he said was rather too low and the astronomical rise in population which has in turn lead to unprecedented consumption in the region over the years and said the situation needed to be urgently remedied.

Introducing the purpose of the World Bank Mission's supervision visit to the private seed producers earlier, the National Project Coordinator WAAPP Nigeria, Prof. Damian Okey Chikwendu disclosed that as part of its activities, WAAPP is seriously considering patronizing the private sector for a productive relationship that could result in massive production of hybrid quality seed. The WAAPP project, he expatiated, is presently looking at ways of ensuring rapid multiplication of crucial foundation and certified seed of hybrid rice, maize, sorghum, and massive production of cassava stems and yam sets.  The totality of these efforts, he added is to garner support for the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the present administration.

Prof. Chikwendu eulogised the efforts of the research institutes in this direction citing instances of various innovative technologies of the institutes and colleges of agriculture, prominent among which is the tissue culture innovation, which he said could lead to rapid seed multiplication, if given the right atmosphere to thrive.  He however, decried the inability of the institutes to live fully up to expectation due to some unrestrained bureaucratic practices and the current protracted strikes.

WAAPP, he added will do everything possible to create the right atmosphere for the seed producers to function.  The private sector, he continued is reputed for having the right business positioning and to have less encumbrances.  He thus charged them to prove their mettle but reminded them that WAAPP will only continue to deal with them if they enthrone credibility into the collaborative process.

Appraising WAAPP intervention efforts in Nigeria, the Deputy National President (Administration) of the All farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Prince Ike Ubaka observed that the seed sector in Nigeria has remained very comatose and needed to be urgently revived.  Nigeria, he said needed to go beyond borders and learn from various agricultural success stories.  He suggested the establishment of seed village concepts to enable youths pick up interest in seed breeding.

Also contributing, a Private seed processor, Mr. Nathaniel Longmut assured that indigenous seed processing companies could meet the nation's seed requirement in a short period if given the right atmosphere to perform.  He advised the government to look inward instead of procuring seeds from outside the country as such products come in with its own ecological and genetic difficulties.  He also advocated the procuring of appropriate seed processing machines for the private seeds companies in the country as part of the collaborative efforts.

In his own contribution, a Director in the National Agricultural Seed Council, Mr. Ojo acknowledged the need to locally produce agricultural seeds that can suit the Nigerian ecology.  He revealed that the National Agricultural Seed Council recently had to resort to the importation of various seeds from Kenya, Burkina Fasso and Togo to meet-up national shortfalls.  He also charged private sector seed producers to develop an effective internal control mechanism which will enable constant quality delivery of their produce.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria