The $100,000 Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) funded National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) upgraded Central Seed Testing Laboratory (CSTL), has been commissioned by the Federal Government.
Speaking during the unveiling of lab equipment donated to NASC by AGRA on Wednesday in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe, said the ministry would strive to ensure that it drives President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of food security for Nigeria.
He said, “To achieve this laudable objective, we are repositioning our strengths and opportunities with collaborating partners as the job for food sufficiency involves the participation of partners along the various value chains from crop to animal health and husbandry, fisheries, agribusiness, processing, storage and inputs.
“In terms of inputs we are all aware that in the crop production sphere seeds are a major determinant of productivity as all other inputs complement the potentials of the seeds planted. This is why the administration has put the availability of quality seeds in the right quantity and right time as a very prominent position in the strategic plans for the food security program in Nigeria.”
Umakhihe, who was represented by the Director, Strategic Grains Reserve, Dr Haruna Sule, said with the accession of Nigeria as the 62nd country in the OECD seed schemes, it would ensure Nigeria produces top quality seeds. He noted that the commissioning of this upgraded lab will up the game in seed production and ensure the country carves a niche for itself in the international seed market.
AGRA country Manager, Dr. Kehinde Makinde, said his organisation is spending so much on the agricultural sector because of the country’s smallholder farmers.
He said AGRA supports smallholder farmers through a series of investment programmes and it is the organisation’s delight to work with the government to touch the lives of the small-time farmers.
“The government has given us priority of supporting the population on food security and we are happy that we are doing this together. As part of our strategy, we launch what we called ‘AGRA 3.0 Strategy’ which is targeted toward Nigeria, that is strengthening the resilient of the small holder farmers, enhancing their competitiveness of small holder farmers to be able to enhance food system transformation in the country for the next five years.
“And if that is going to work, one of the strategic aspects we need to take seriously is the seeds system work which we have started together for more than 15 years now.. Sustainable farming, market and trade and the last thing is quality and test capability and if that would work, seed is very basic. That explains the strong partnership we have with Seed Council,” he said.
Welcoming the participants, NASC Acting Director General, Dr. Ishiaku Khalid, said AGRA has contributed significantly to the development of the Seed sector in Nigeria.
He said the NASC Central Seed Testing laboratory underwent its final audit towards becoming an accredited laboratory of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), saying this was a result of the upgrading of the laboratory to an international standard with state-of-the-art equipment and that stakeholders are now awaiting the preliminary report of the 2-man team from the ISTA HQ Geneva.