Low quality seeds threaten Nigeria’s quest for food sufficiency

Nigerian farmers have identified poor seeds as the major challenge facing their cultivation of crop efforts and improving yield per hectare, BusinessDay investigations have shown.

Access to adequate, secured and timely supply of quality seeds and seedlings is a major hurdle on the nation’s way to achieving food sufficiency that demands urgent attention if Nigeria hopes to diversify its economy through the sector, say experts.

“Most of the seeds in the market today are imported and this is because we do not produce enough seeds. The research institutes that are mandated to produce improved varieties of seeds are not doing anything,” Abiodun Olorundenro, chief executive officer, Green Vine Farms, told BusinessDay.
“There are lots of adulterated seeds in the country today because demand is much higher than supply. The level of investments in the industry is low. To bridge the gap, a lot of merchants are importing these seeds for farmers,” Olorundenro said.
Since 2012, the number of private seed companies has grown from 11 to over 100, which, experts say, is an attestation of the enormously untapped potential and vast business opportunities in the industry that is yet unexplored.

Despite the tremendous increase in the number of seed companies, the country’s seed market is still filled with a lot of adulterated and fake seeds as demand continues to outweigh supply.

“We don’t have access to quality seeds. This has affected my produce badly that I could not even produce anything significant last year,” said Ademola Yusuf, a farmer who farms five hectare of cucumber and maize in Ogun State.
Yusuf stated that Nigeria is supposed to be sufficient in major crop production if farmers can have access to quality seeds, as this would increase productivity and improve yield per hectare.
Nigeria’s domestic demand for seeds stand at over 350,000 metric tonnes in 2015, while is produces only 123,000 tonnes leaving a supply –demand gap of more than 227,000 metric tonnes, according to the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).

According to experts, Nigeria has the potential to become one of the Africa’s powerhouse for food, if farmers can have access to good and quality seeds with high yielding varieties.

The experts stated that seeds and seedlings are the basis for crop improvement which has allowed plant breeders to develop cultivars with high levels of adaptation.

As a result, a lot of efforts are put into breeding improved varieties in terms of yield and tolerance to production limitations such as drought and diseases.
“The biggest challenge confronting groundnut farmers is low yielding seed varieties. If farmers have access to improved technologies including seeds of improved varieties they will produce more and profitably, “said Hakeem Ayinde Ajeigbe, country representative, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in an email response to questions.
“We need to continue to invest in researches, extension, and seed systems as these activities will help increase production and productivity,” Ajeigbe said.

 
Josephine Okojie