The National Agricultural Seeds Council, (NASC), has announced that about 81,000 metric tons of certified seeds are ready for deployment to farmers nationwide for the 2020 farming season.
NASC Director -Genera , Philip Ojo, during a virtual media briefing hosted via Zoom in Abuja, stated that the council was doing all it could to ensure that farmers had access to quality seeds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He conveyed that the NASC is doing all within its reach to ensure that seed activities are sustained and promoted amid efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country so that Nigeria can maintain a continuous and adequate supply of food for its population.
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According to the director-general, the industry is preparing to push 81,000 tons of certified seeds, which include rice, maize, sorghum, soya bean, cowpea, millet, groundnut, wheat, sesame, and potato, to the market and companies as farmers prepare for the planting season.
Ojo said that there is an urgent need to replace the current reduction in food stocks resulting from mass purchase and consumption a task that can only be achieved by using high-quality seeds.
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The NASC leader also lauded Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono , for his efforts towards instating the task force to oversee the movement of agricultural produce amid lockdown directives across the states.
The NASC is tasked with the overall development and regulation of the national seed industry. The council also advises the federal government on the organization, management and financing of seed programes, and analyses the market and price of seeds to provide updates to the national research system on the changing pattern of seed demand and farmers’ needs.
