The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) has trained and commissioned 15 licenced seeds Inspectors for Cassava in Kogi State.
The Director-General of NASC, Dr Philip Olusegun Ojo, said the seed inspectors are the captains of cassava seed quality assurances, and that they must continue to discharge their responsibilities diligently and must not be found compromising seed quality.
The training was conducted with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr Ojo assured that once the Council’s world-class Grow-Out-Test site in the headquarters is completed, samples of cassava stems certified by LSIs will be subjected to control testing and results will be compared with LSIs field inspection reports to assess their field inspection activities.
Ojo who was represented by the Director, Seeds Certification and Quality Control, Dr Ishiak Khalid, said the three-day refresher training is a re-assurance of BASIC’s commitment to constant capacity building for LSIs and deep interest in the third-party seed certification appraisal system to ensure the system is at par with international best practices.
“Let me commend the financier of the BASICS project, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its vision to develop a sustainable and commercial model for cassava seed systems in Nigeria which will enable our smallholder farmers to have unhindered access to high-quality planting materials to enhance farm-level productivity.
“I also want to commend you for participating in this scheme even though the system is still in its early years and with teething challenges, your contribution since inception is noteworthy as it has added great value to the quality component of the BASICS II project.
“You have proven to be a true partner in progress. I also want to commend your mentor, Mr Soji Odusanya for sparing time to take you all through three (3) months of the rigorous internship process. We have been working closely with your supervising institution, the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and feedbacks from them indicated some knowledge gaps and hence need for refresher training.
“So today, we will be retraining you on cassava varietal identification, cassava seed certification systems, new methods in seed certification, usage of cassava seed tracker, data collection and reporting etc. to further deepen your knowledge on cassava seed system. I want you to engage the resource persons and ask questions where necessary.
“I have been informed that the number of applications for Commercial Seed Entrepreneurs in Kogi State is on the rise and this means you might be having added responsibilities. Please, be free in sharing your field experience and challenges with us to help us identify possible ways to perfect the system.
“Let me also inform you that we have inaugurated additional LSIs in Abia and Oyo states to strengthen cassava seed quality assurances in these high cassava producing states and the NASC is poised to expand this scheme beyond cassava into other grain crops. This shows the high level of commitment of the government in the development of the scheme,” he said.
He further told the inspectors that the guideline for authorizing private certification agents in Nigeria has been forwarded to other stakeholders within the seed industry and that once the document is finally ratified by the governing board of NASC, it will be made available to stakeholders and it will serve as your guide as it relates to third-party seed system which also includes the private laboratories.
“After this refresher training, there is still a lot to be learnt on cassava seed certification systems and I want to appeal to you all to continue to leverage on the knowledge of your mentor for knowledge update and more guidance.
“I want to once again appreciate the strong support from our collaborating partner, Catholic Relief Service, the IITA, most especially the quality assurance component team lead, Dr Lava Kumar for his intellectual leadership skills to ensure that quality assurance is delivered at the utmost level under the project.
“Furthermore, I wish to reiterate the NASC resolve and commitment to strengthening the private seed certification system in Nigeria,” he said.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.
and then