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Through internal conflict and encroachment of roles, some Federal Government agencies have been working at cross-purposes in an effort aimed at growing agricultural activities in the country.
With the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) drifting away from monetary functions to acting more as a ministry of agriculture, the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has assumed the duty of distributing seedlings to farmers without certification by the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), another government agency.
Distribution of improved seedlings to help farmers raise productivity has been about awarding of contracts to suppliers and less about government vetting the quality of products given to farmers, Businessday found.
The lack of synergy and clash of roles in government administration was one of the factors identified to be capable of undermining agricultural growth in the country, at the ongoing three-day Strategy Retreat for NASC Members of Governing Board and Top Management Staff in Ibadan.
Describing seedlings as a foundational part of agricultural production, Phillip Ojo, directorgeneral of NASC, said the Council had written erring agencies on the counter-productive effect of skipping vetting. But no response has come from them.
He said the purpose of certification was to ensure good genetics and good varieties were made available to farmers for increased productivity and enhancement of food security.
Last February, ni rs al flagged off input distribution including seedlings to farmers in Sokoto, with plans to spread to Anambra, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ondo and Zamfara states.
The risk sharing system said it was spearheading the distribution as a participating financial institution under the Anchor Borrowers Programme handled by the CBN.
Again in May, it began distribution of seedlings, herbicides, Nitrogen Phosphorous and Potassium and urea fertilisers for the cultivation of maize, rice and cassava in Ogun State.
The NASC works to ensure adulterated seeds are curbed in the ecosystem through use of technology enhancing mechanism such as the National Seed Tracker for real time tracking of all seed activities and the NASCCODEX for authentication and anti-faking of quality.
It’s target is that at least 40 percent of farmers in Nigeria use improved open-pollinated and hybrid seeds across priority value chains such as Roots and Tubers (Cassava and Yam), Grains (Maize, Rice, Soybean Sorghum) and vegetable.
Adesola Ajayi, a professor of Seed Science and NASC board member said the seed business is a technical one which involves adequate competence and activities ranging from variety development, seed multiplication and distribution.
“Seed is not like any other commodity. There is a specification for transporting, failure of which you will experience drastic loss and reduction in quality,” he explained.
