The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has called on Nigerian farmers to embrace innovations, technologies, and the use of improved seeds for an overall increase in agricultural productivity and yield per unit area.
The Minister stated this in Abuja at the validation of the Revised National Agricultural Seed Policy, saying the revised seed policy has removed the ambiguous areas in the old policy and introduced innovations to shift from subsistent farming into modern agriculture for the creation of massive jobs and wealth.
Abubakar pointed out that the revised policy will address numerous challenges confronting the agricultural sector, adding that the Federal Government is working assiduously to ensure that Nigeria attains food security.
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According to him, the last review was done in 2015, adding that there would have been a lot of changes in the operations of the seed industry that would necessitate the current review exercise, especially in line with the new functions assigned to NASC by the enactment of the National Agricultural Seed Act, No. 21 of 2019 and the PVP Act, No. 5 of 2021.
“I am aware that this policy document represents the concerted efforts of the NASC and the stakeholders who have made valuable inputs and contributions into this document, towards ensuring that farmers have unrestricted access to the best genetics to enhance their productivity.” Abubakar said
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Director General of NASC, Dr. Philip Olusegun Ojo, remarked that the review process of the policy commenced last year with a series of activities and consultations which resulted in the development of a revised policy called “Agricultural Seeds Policy 2021-2025”, which leveraged on the advent of technology and innovations in the seed industry.
He narrated that the council has introduced some innovations and technologies which include SEEDCODEX, Third Party Certification, Seed Tracker, NASC Seed Information Management Platform (NASIMP), NASC Electronic Survey Tool (NEST), and E-Library, among others.
