The Federal Government declared that policy inconsistency, insecurity, economic uncertainty, and rising oil costs, among other things, were threatening Nigerian food security.
Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, made the announcement at the official launch of the Revised National Agricultural Seed Policy, 2022, in Abuja. However, stated that it was making efforts to tackle these challenges, and identified the agricultural sector as the most viable industry for the proposed diversification plan of Nigeria’s economy.
The minister stated that the revised policy removed the ambiguous areas in the previous 2015 National Seed Policy, strengthened the identified weaknesses, and introduced innovations that optimized the National Agricultural Seed Council’s regulatory, promotional, and protective roles in ensuring farmers’ access to quality seeds.
“Some of these achievements have enabled the availability of 89,512.10 metric tonnes of assorted improved seed varieties for planting by farmers during the 2023 cropping season,” Abubakar said.
He said stakeholders at both the public and private sectors joined in enriching the contents of the new policy document, as part of their investment to build a better future for Nigeria’s agriculture.