WAAPP inaugurates task force on seed multiplication strategy.

[FMINigeria]

                        The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria), on Tuesday, 14th May 2013 inaugurated a 14 man Task Force for the development of a seed multiplication strategy at the Madugu Hotel in Abuja.

While he was inaugurating the task force, the National Project Coordinator of WAAPP, Prof. Damian Okey Chikwendu called on members of the task force to quickly work out strategies for the development of an enduring seed map for the nation.

National-Project-Coordinator,WAAPP,-Prof. Damin-O.Chikwendu From all available data, he said, acquiring improved seeds has become a key challenge to the Nigerian farmer.   He therefore, observed the need to urgently develop some agricultural seeds in line with the concepts of the Nation's agricultural transformation agenda (ATA).  He reminded the members of the task force that WAAPP was only an intervention agent and would as such try to address the deficiency in agricultural seed supply through technology generation and promotion of some identified priority. He thus charged them to focus on producing a road map for the production of breeder and foundation seeds of several priority crops.

Prof. Chikwendu identified some of the priority crops of WAAPP to include Rice, Wheat, sorghum, maize, cassava and yam. Speaking further, he described WAAPP as a World Bank intervention project with an overall objective of increasing agricultural productivity in the West African sub-region. The project he said has four components which include:

(i)          Create enabling conditions for sub-regional cooperation in technology generation and dissemination

(ii)          Transforming the National Institute for Fresh Water Fisheries (NIFFR) into a National Centre of Specialization (NSO) in aquaculture.

(iii)         Funding of demand-driven technology generation and adoption.

(iv)        Establishing an effective coordination, management and M&E system.

The terms of reference for the task force, according to the National Coordinator include:

i.            Take stock of available seed and the related national requirements with focus on priority commodities;

ii.            Identify and evaluate key constraints to the development of agricultural seed in Nigeria and propose solutions;

iii.            Recommend strategies for the multiplication of seed for each priority commodity under WAAPP;

iv.            Develop action plan and a road map for the achievement of sustainable seed production;

v.            Propose/recommend the contributions that WAAPP and WASP could make to support the federal government of Nigeria in its effort to revitalize the seed system toward achieving the mandates of WASP, WAAPP-Nigeria, and the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

The Seed Multiplication Strategy Task Team has Dr. Utiang Ugbe, the Technical Consultant to WAAPP as Chairman and Mr. Aje Ebenezer Ore as Secretary. Members include Prince Ike Ubaka of AFAN, Mohammed Mogaji of ARCN, Hakeem Ajeigbe of ICRISAT, Akinwale Gbenga of AfriRice, Adetumbi Adedayo of IAR&T and Dr. A. T. Maji of NCRI Badegi.  It has 14 days to submit its report.

It would be recalled that a similar task force was set up by WAAPP some weeks back to look into issues bothering on livestock production in Nigeria with special focus on the Chika Brown Poultry production at the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) in Zaria and on activities at the Centre of Specialization for aquaculture at the National Institute of Fresh Fish Water Research Institute, (NIFFRI), New Bussa.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria