The Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) has called on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), and other relevant bodies to support seed businesses that will enable seed companies to expand and modernise production.
The President of SEEDAN, Otunba Olafare Richard, who was represented by Sir George Zangir at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association, said seed is the starting point for any meaningful agricultural development, and no investment or commitment is too much in the seed sector.
He said every effort must be made by relevant stakeholders to nurture the seed sector to attain food security.
“SEEDAN wishes to plead with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and all the agencies such as NIRSAL (CBN), Commercial banks, insurance companies and others to further intensify the support for seed businesses, which will enable most companies to expand production and modernise their seed processing activities”, he said.
He called on the government to speedily implement the supply of seeds and other agro-inputs as approved by President Bola Tinubu by patronizing seed companies accredited by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC)
Richard said the seed companies must have verifiable sources of early-generation seed, registered seed fields that are geo-tagged, as well as evidence of seed lots that have passed minimum field certification and seed laboratory standards, to ensure that farmers get quality and viable seeds for the production of food in Nigeria.
Furthermore, he said members of the association suffered a huge setback as a result of the delay in payment for seeds supplied during the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme.
“The journey has not been an easy one, as we had to weather and struggle through different hurdles and bottlenecks.
“The most important one being the delayed GES payments, which crippled and, in a way, limited the performance of most seed companies in Nigeria.
It must, however, be noted that due to the financing made available for the first three straight years of the GES, the number of seed companies grew by more than 200% and the seed volume grew by more than 400%.
“Unfortunately, the continued access to financing was impeded by the hiccup in payment for seeds supplied under the programme, which masked the gains in the sector during the period.
“Although this had a negative impact on the Nigerian seed industry, I am glad that today SEEDAN and the Nigerian Seed Industry were able to pass through the difficult times to become stronger”, Richard noted.
He said that by organising the AGM, the members aspire to revitalise SEEDAN and foster a stronger sense of unity and shared purpose.
“A key component of this AGM would be the election of new officers through popular participation, who will be instrumental in leading the association’s operations, steering us in the right direction, and implementing necessary changes that have been long overdue.
“In the vein of this development, I want to urge the new executives to strive to achieve more milestones and keep the fire burning by ensuring that the use of improved seed is significantly increased in Nigeria and the West African Region as a whole”, he said.
He commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, NASC, and development partners like ECOWAS, BMGF, AATF, AGRA, USAID, and CORAF for their support and collaboration.
The Acting Director General of NASC, Dr Ishiak Khalid, said the AGM no doubt holds immense significance for the development of the seed sector in particular and agricultural production in general.
Dr. Khalid said over the years, SEEDAN has played a pivotal role in advancing the seed industry in Nigeria by fostering innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
“I want to commend SEEDAN for its commitment towards promoting best practices through research and advocacy in the seed industry.
Your efforts have not only strengthened the capacity of entrepreneurs but also empowered farmers across Nigeria.
“With a total of over 450 seed entrepreneurs in the docket and over 120 in different stages of accreditation, I make bold to say that the industry is growing exponentially, and this calls for the purposeful leadership of the trade bodies”, he noted.
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