Abuja, April 15, 2019 (NAN) – Some seed companies have appealed to the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) to step up its sanctions on seed companies dealing on adulterated and fake seeds in the country.
The companies were reacting to complaint by farmers that they purchase substandard seeds from registered seed companies.
Some of them, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during the second Edition of the Seed Connect Africa in Abuja on Monday, lamented that the development was affecting their businesses.
Ms Mercy Effiong, the Business Development Officer of Value Seed Ltd. said that stepping up actions on fake seed dealers would help rid the industry of quacks and boost food production.
She emphasised the need for proper monitoring and inspection of seed companies to ensure compliance with standards.
Effiong said that some farmers were not knowledgeable enough to differentiate between quality and low quality seeds.
According to her, some farmers patronise cheaper seeds without knowing their quality.
« We are into food and vegetables crops like maize, cowpea, soybeans and millet.
« We produce and market these seeds but we import the vegetable seeds from South Africa.
« We have the value packs and it helps farmers to get the right seeds.
« The NASC should up their game in monitoring and inspecting seed companies as often as possible.
« This issue of adulterated seed is affecting our business because we may sell a kilogram of seed for N350 and another person who did not pass through the rigourous production and processing process can come and sell at a less price.
« The unfortunate thing is that farmers will go for the cheaper ones without knowing the quality, » she lamented.
Mr Linus Umah, the Sales and Marketing officer of AgriSeed Company Ltd. advised farmers to always verify registered seed companies before purchasing seeds from them.
Umah, who said that the company was dealing on hybrid maize and vegetable seeds, called on the government to restrategise on ways to address issues of adulterated seeds in the industry.
Mr Haruna Hassan, the Acting Managing Director of Rahama Integrated Farms Ltd., urged the government to sanitise the seed industry with a view to improving agricultural production across the country.
Hassan also appealed to farmers to opt for quality seeds to boost production.
Meanwhile, Dr Philip Ojo, the Director General of NASC at the event said the council was introducing different technologies to address the spread of fake seeds.
Ojo said that the council was also working on improving private and public sector participation in the production, processing and marketing of seeds.
According to him, the demand for seeds in 2019 is about 400,000 tonnes worth N281 billion.
The two-day event attracted local and international stakeholders in the seed industry from across the globe.
