A UKAID Climate-resilient and agricultural market development programme, Propcom+, is pushing for a framework to strengthen the regulatory environment for seed certification and variety release in Nigeria.
The push is coming on the heels of growing controversy over Genetically Modified Organism foods in Nigeria.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Kano on Wednesday, Team Lead in Propcom+, Dr. Adiya Ode, said the meeting was aimed at supporting economic growth for small holder farmers, SHF, and small and medium enterprises in conflict and climate affected regions in Nigeria.
“We operate through a “3 Pillar based” approach: scaling up proven climate-smart interventions, building markets by piloting new business models, and enabling policies that strengthen the food and land-use system. We deploy various facilitation tools to support market actions of which this forum is one of,” stated Gloria Ekpo who represented Dr. Ode.
According to her, Propcom+ remains “committed to identifying critical regulatory constraints in the Nigerian Seeds System to increase the demand of climate-resilient and nutrient dense seed varieties while increasing SHF access.”
She stressed that the import of socializing the seed policy would help them to identify and function as critical stakeholders.
In his address at the event, the Kano State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Danjuma Mahmoud, disclosed that the state government is investing in the provision of dams in rural areas for social and irrigation purposes to boost agricultural production.
Mahmoud, who was represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Bashir Sanusi, also emphasised the commitment of the state government towards agricultural development projects aimed at improving the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.
He added that a huge investment has equally been made in the provision of about 200 agricultural tools and equipment, such as power tillers, combine harvesters, tractors, among others, to be distributed among smaller groups of farmers.
In his remarks, the Country Manager of HarvestPlus Nigeria, a Propcom+ partner, Dr. Yusuf Dollah, explained that the meeting was a gathering of key stakeholders in the seed sector aimed at improving the implementation of the existing state seed policy, which has been slow despite being in place for some time.
He said the goal is to form a coalition to address challenges and gaps within the Nigerian seed system before the policy’s expiration, which is targeted around 2027. The aim is to achieve significant progress, ideally 70-80% implementation.
In his goodwill message, the director of seed information, data management, and capacity building of the National Agricultural Seed Council, NASC, Dr. Oluwole Towolawi, highlighted lack of synergy, inadequate funding, or late fund release as major barriers to policy performance.
He noted that the implementation framework for the 2022 national Agricultural Seed Policy guidelines aims to increase the availability of quality seed, reduce counterfeiting, and reduce childhood and maternal malnutrition by 40% through the adoption of biofortified and climate-resilient varieties, which will help reduce the incidence of poverty in smallholder farming.
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