Stakeholders in the agricultural sector, on Thursday, met in Abuja on the implementation of the new Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act 2021.
The stakeholders said with the proper implementation of the PVP Act, farmers across the country will witness high yields which will, in turn, ensure food security for the country.
Speaking at the unveiling of the PVP Act 2021, the Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo said Nigeria’s agricultural sector transformation is a significant reason why the country should pay attention to PVP.
Dr Ojo said this move would incentivise national and multinational agribusiness investments in the country.
“We will begin to see on our farmer’s field superior yielding, stress-tolerant, disease-resistant, climate-smart and input efficient varieties which will be introduced by innovative breeders both from the public and the private sector in few years to come.
In addition to the above, we will begin to witness efficient land use and reduced food cost as a result of the increased productivity from cultivated hectares across the country.
He said NASC have already started doing what is necessary to ensure that Nigeria does not only have the PVP Law but to implement it for the impacts to be delivered to the farmers and the entire Nigerians.
“NASC have commenced actions to set up a functional PVP office to receive and process applications for the granting of a Plant Variety Protection rights in Nigeria from anywhere in the world. We are also working to develop supporting regulations that will help implement the Act,” he added.
The National Economic Summit Group (NESG) said as the country celebrate this achievement and discuss plans for implementation, “we must act with a sense of urgency to strengthen partnerships for resilient seeds regulations through catalytic investments into the Seeds sector, tackle high-level insecurity for sustainable and inclusive seeds systems and agricultural transformation in Nigeria.
NESG CEO represented by Ms Gloria Ekpo said There is no doubt that the implementation of the Plant Variety Protection Act will assist to better position Nigeria to feed her growing population and equally attract foreign investments into the Seed sub-sector as well as enjoy the gains of intra- and inter-border trade opportunities in seed trade and exports.
“Indeed, hunger has been on the rise for several years in Nigeria and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, affordability, availability and accessibility to nutritious foods is increasingly becoming difficult for 52 million food-insecure Nigerians.
“It is our belief that plant breeders and farmers can offer solutions to these challenges of food insecurity. But, in order to succeed, they need the right tools – and that requires us to reorient food systems so that the plant breeders and farmers are given opportunities to thrive, and to be fairly rewarded for the work they do.
“With increased incomes and profits among small-scale farmers and plant breeders, their businesses are invested back into local economies, where they create jobs and equitable growth. This is crucial for creating opportunities for rural youth and to live and thrive in their various communities.
“Furthermore, as we intentionally integrate digitisation into the seed-subsector processes, service delivery will be improved for small-scale farmers, interactive digital extension sessions and user-friendly mobile applications can be facilitated and strengthened with farmers on sustainable agronomic practices. This will further unlock competitiveness within the agri-food ecosystem with appropriate demand forecasts,” she added.
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono said “one of the key issues to the development of agriculture is innovation and research. All countries of the world that have succeeded in improving their agricultural production was done through innovation and research.
He said: “in spite of all the challenges, we have 35 seed companies in Nigeria, in one of our high-level meetings on economic sustainability, some people came with the idea that there is an emergency and we need to import seeds, and I said no. I told them we have enough seeds in this country, but the issue is access to getting seeds or information.
“It is very important that the PVP is diligently implemented, we should engage all the stakeholders in this business.”
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