The North-West Regional Office of the National Agricultural Seeds Council has restated its commitment to fight against seeds adulteration and compromise of the council’s regulation.
Malam Abdul-Dallami Abdul, Director, North-West Regional Office of the Council, communicated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Zaria.
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Abdul said that the move would ensure that farmers had access to quality seeds at affordable prices for dry season farming, adding that food security would not be achievable without seeds security.
He said the seeds inspectorate of the council would be on the field for enforcement of the council’s regulations on seeds companies and agro-dealers to tame adulteration of seeds among other offences.
According to him, the inspectors will be at the stores of seeds companies and agro-dealers, especially dealers who store chemicals, fertilisers and seeds in one store.
“Storing chemicals, fertilisers and seeds in one store is an infringement of the council’s rules because it kills the efficacy of the seeds such seeds would be confiscated alongside other punitive measures.’’
Abdul advised the farmers to use the seed codex on the bags of each seed to curtail buying an adulterated seeds.
He advised the farmers to get high quality seeds from reputable and licensed seed companies.
According to him, quality seed contributes to over 50 per cent of the agricultural production and other inputs just to complement it.
“If farmer fails to get a quality seeds you can put whatever amount of fertiliser he will not get good result,” he said.
He said that the council had registered over 430 seed companies in 2023 which was unprecedented and such number was an indication that farmers were seeing the advantages of planting seeds not grains.
Abdul urged the companies to do the needful and desist from cutting corners to further augment government’s efforts on food sufficiency in Nigeria.
