The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved N50 billion Presidential Catalytic Seed Fund to revive Nigeria’s seed industry, enhance food security and stimulate private-sector growth across the agricultural value chain.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima announced the approval yesterday at the opening of the eighth SeedConnect Africa Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, an event timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC).
Alongside the fund’s approval, Shettima unveiled the new Seeds for Renewed Hope Programme (S-RHP), set to become the driving force behind Nigeria’s seed transformation agenda.
According to government insiders, the new fund, backed by Section 45 of the NASC Act 2019, will support private-sector-led seed production, expand farmers’ access to certified seeds, and remove systemic barriers that slow growth in the seed industry.
As a first step, improved varieties of rice, maize and vegetables are already being distributed to farmers under the S-RHP rollout.
Officials say the government aims to raise annual seed availability for key crops by 10 per cent between 2025 and 2027, aiming to close the gap between seed demand and supply.
The programme also includes upgrades to seed-testing laboratories, a crackdown on the sales of adulterated seeds, and efforts to boost youth and women’s participation in seed entrepreneurship.
At the event, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security reaffirmed that quality seeds remain central to national food-security plans.
The Minister, Abubakar Kyari, outlined wider sectoral gains, including the expansion of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme – Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), increased wheat production (including rain-fed wheat in Plateau State), and the recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture with N1.5 trillion, plus an additional N250 billion funding window.
He said these efforts, along with full activation of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), are beginning to ease food prices across several commodity markets.
Though the sector is not yet where authorities want it to be, the minister said the current trend confirms that Nigeria is moving steadily in the right direction.
NASC’s Director-General, Fatuhu Muhammed, described the seed sector’s 50-year history as a testament to Nigeria’s resilience.
He highlighted major milestones, including the release of more than 60 improved, climate-resilient seed varieties; the implementation of a Digital Seed Certification System; new guidelines on crop-variety registration and third-party certification; and Nigeria’s growing influence in global seed-regulation bodies, including International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), and regional blocs like Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He added that Nigeria exported over 4,000 tonnes of certified seeds in 2023, generating more than US$8 million.
To mark NASC’s Golden Jubilee, the council unveiled the new “Nigeria Seed Industry Book”, the Seeds for Renewed Hope programme, a comprehensive “Nigeria Seed System Strategy Document” (in partnership with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, AGRA), and an official 50th-anniversary logo.
The newly approved N50 billion catalytic fund, housed in the Bank of Industry with a 6 % concessional interest rate, is expected to significantly improve early-generation seed supply, quality assurance and commercial-scale seed production over the next four years.
Source: The Nation Online
