Ugo Aliogo
The Director-General, National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr. Olusegun Ojo has expressed the commitment of Nigeria seed companies to increase seed production from 100,000 metric tonnes, which is the current production figure, adding that 50 per cent of seeds produced in West Africa are from Nigeria.
Ojo, who disclosed this in Lagos during the recent launch of the Plant Variety Protection Act, said the law would make it possible for breeders to be properly recognised and remunerated.
He stated that the agency would ensure that companies have improved productivity, increased competitiveness for their seeds in the global seed space, and crop yield will also increase in order to compete in the international space.
He hinted that there were over 300 seeds companies in the country that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as a result they were only able to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of seeds in 2020.
He decried the situation that Nigeria was once regarded as one of the few countries in Africa that does not have a plant variety protection system, for plant varieties, but said it was no longer the case with Nigeria.
According to him, “The importance of having a PVP law in place cannot be overemphasizing. Nigeria’s agricultural sector transformation is a significant reason why the country should pay attention to plant variety protection (PVP). This would incentivize national and multinational agribusiness investments in the country.
“We will begin to see on our farmer’s field superior yielding, stress-tolerant, disease-resistant, and climate-smart and input efficient varieties which will be introduced by innovative breeders both from the public and the private sector in few years to come. In addition to the above, we will begin to witness efficient land use and reduced food cost as a result of the increased productivity from cultivated hectares across the country.
“All the above transformation will not happen without the necessary push. The NASC under my able leadership is always ready to push and we have already started doing what is necessary to ensure that we do not only have the PVP Law, but we implement it for the aforementioned impacts to be delivered to the farmers and the entire Nigerians.
“We have already commenced actions to set up a functional Plant Variety Protection (PVP) office that will be capable to receive and process applications for the granting of a Plant Variety Protection rights in Nigeria from anywhere in the world. We are also working to develop supporting regulations that will help implement the Act.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, said there was need to act with a sense of urgency to strengthen partnerships for resilient seeds regulations through catalytic investments into the seeds sector tackle high-level insecurity for sustainable and inclusive seeds systems and agricultural transformation in the country.
According to Jaiyeola, “There is no doubt that the implementation of Plant Variety Protection Act will assist to better position Nigeria to feed her growing population and equally attract foreign investments into the Seed sub-sector as well as enjoy the gains of intra- and inter-border trade opportunities in seed trade and exports.”
