The management of Ajayi Crowther University (ACU) has called on the government to give private investors a breeding ground to operate in order to meet the nation’s current demand for high quality seeds as part of efforts to help the country attain food sufficiency and security.
The Vice Chancellor of ACU, Professor Timothy Adebayo, made this call at the institution’s campus in Oyo town during a sensitization workshop for farmers and other stakeholders on the newly-established agric venture of the university named, ACU Seeds Ltd.
Adebayo, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the school, Prof Muyiwa Popoola, noted that farmers have been grappling with the use of low quality and impure seeds that portend grave dangers to crop production and food security in the country.
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He explained that high quality seeds purchased by farmers from agricultural research institutes are not easily accessible and barely enough to meet the huge needs, which necessitated the need for private institutions to venture into the seed business in order for the production to meet the existing demand in the country.
The ACU boss recalled that the government eventually acceded to the yearnings of farmers and farm enterprises on March 3, 2021, by passing into law the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) bill, which allows private seed breeders to brand their breeds of seeds and claim intellectual property rights on them.
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The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Prof Babatunde Akanbi, while speaking, disclosed that the ACU Seeds Ltd venture is currently going through the accreditation process with the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Abuja.
He added that ACU Seeds Business started its successful journey through 350 kg of breeder seeds of two newly released maize varieties bio-fortified with provitamin A (PVA) that were given freely by IITA, and that the objectives of the venture are not limited to the production of maize seed varieties.
