The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, has announced that the Revised National Agricultural Seed Policy (RNASP) 2022 has enabled the availability of 89,512.10 metric tonnes of assorted improved seed varieties for planting by farmers in the 2023 cropping season.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Abubakar said the new policy document is an investment geared toward building a better future for Nigeria's agriculture sector, explaining that seeds are critical inputs in enhancing farmers' productivity while also boosting the country's Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
Abubakar noted that the RNASP 2022 would help to ensure more access to improved quality seeds, boost food and nutrition security as well as encourage the participation of women and youth in the seed value chain. He noted that the enactment of the National Agricultural Seed Act, No 21 of 2019, and the Plant Variety Protection Act, No 5 of 2021, have empowered new responsibilities and widened the scope of operations of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).
The minister revealed that the present seed policy document represented the concerted efforts of NASC and other stakeholders who had made valuable inputs towards ensuring that farmers have unrestricted access to the best genetics to enhance their productivity. He noted that the council had also introduced additional innovations and technologies, which included Third-Party Certification, Seed Tracker, NASC Seed Information Management Platform (NASIMP), NASC Electronic Survey Tool (NEST), e-Library, Molecular Diagnostics System to ease its functions of delivering quality seeds to the Nigeria's farming populace.
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