Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have called for investment in extension advisory services to enhance proper usage of seeds and agricultural productivity.
They made the call in Abuja at the 5th edition of SeedConnect Africa organised by the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), on Monday.
The 2-day event is an annual programme, where stakeholders in the seed industry around the world converge to discuss issues affecting the seed industry.
The Head of Building Sustainable Seed System for Cassava (BASIC II), Prof. Lateef Sanni, said poor funding of the Agricultural Development Program (ADP) had weakened the extension advisory services for seed.
Sanni, who is also a Professor of Food Science and Technology, said investment in extension advisory services would enhance proper usage of seeds which according to him will further enhance agricultural productivity.
“If you look at what the World Bank did by setting up state Agricultural Development Program (ADP). They were the best tool to actually extend some of these technologies and best practices to farmers in rural level.
“But unfortunately, we keep on reducing the funding to ADPs. For instance, we have about 1000 seed producers but for us to reach them, we have to make use of some of the ADPs and some private NGOs.
“So, the combination of those public and private extension advisory support is very important to reach to millions of farmers.
“It is one thing for you to plant high yielding disease resistant seed and it is another thing for you to use good agronomic practices or six steps in weed management.
“So, investment in extension advisory services is a key principal factor to enhancing our agricultural productivity as a nation,” he said.
Sanni also called on the Nigeria government to invest in agricultural Universities to have a seed technical hub, which he said would enhance the development of the country’s seed system.
“Another thing is that, nobody is investing in university to have Seed Technical Hub in all the Universities in each region.
“At least, in six universities to cover our agroecological zones as a nation.
“Most universities are not part of this type of interventions. This is an area I want to call on thy Federal Government to look into.
“There is need to support seed development centres, especially in universities of agriculture and universities that have strong faculty of agriculture in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Mainza Mugoya, the Programme Coordinator, African Seed Access Index (TASAI), said quality control, capacity of seed companies, extension services and funding for research institutes remains the major challenges of the seed system.
He stressed that challenges in the seed industry varied in Africa, adding that in Nigeria, the extension services capacity “is still a bit weaker.
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