Nigeria has invested more than $50 million in biotechnology research and climate-resilient seed development over the past two years, in a move to improve agricultural productivity and strengthen agribusiness value chains, the Director General of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Fatuhu Muhammed, has said.

Muhammed revealed this at the official launch of the ProSeV Project during a stakeholders’ engagement event, where he delivered a keynote address on variety adoption and its impact on agribusiness.

In his address, Muhammed described seed as the most critical input in agriculture and stressed that adopting improved varieties is central to shifting Nigeria’s agriculture from subsistence production into a competitive, investment-ready sector.

He explained that improved seed varieties provide multiple benefits, including higher yields, climate resilience, pest resistance, improved nutrition, and more sustainable farming systems.

“As the global population grows and climate risks intensify, seed technology will play a decisive role in addressing food security challenges and promoting sustainable agriculture,” he said.

Muhammed noted that agribusiness planning in Nigeria has long been constrained by weak data on which seed varieties farmers actually grow and how these varieties perform after release.

He explained that reliance on farmer recall and visual identification often fails to capture the realities in farmers’ fields. 

This has created uncertainty for seed producers, processors, investors, and policymakers.

To address this, NASC has implemented the IMAGE Project, which uses DNA fingerprinting to identify seed varieties grown by farmers and track their movement through the seed system.

“This approach brings accuracy, objectivity and credibility, three attributes modern agribusiness systems require,” Muhammed said.

Through national surveys covering rice, maize, cassava and cowpea, NASC has generated field-level data on variety adoption patterns and sources of planting material across Nigeria’s agro-ecological zones.

Muhammed said this evidence is strategic for agribusiness because it helps processors forecast supply, investors assess risk, regulators curb counterfeit seeds, and financial institutions gain confidence in agricultural investments.

The seed sector has recorded significant progress in recent years, including the distribution of more than 120,000 metric tonnes of certified seeds, benefiting millions of smallholder farmers.

NASC’s Digital Seed Distribution System, introduced in 2021, has reduced distribution costs by 25% while improving efficiency and traceability.

The Nigeria–Netherlands Collaborative Seed Programme has released over 20 new seed varieties, including pest-resistant, drought-tolerant and high-yielding crops in the last two years.

Muhammed also highlighted that women now account for 35% of certified seed users, and more than 2.5 million farmers have been trained on good agricultural practices and seed management.

Looking ahead, Muhammed said the $50 million biotechnology investment has supported the development of pest-resistant cassava, drought-tolerant millet, and high-yield rice.

He added that collaborations with global research bodies such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the CGIAR are accelerating innovation in seed breeding and climate resilience.

Muhammed said Nigeria’s seed sector has been strengthened through the Plant Variety Protection Act and NASC’s membership in global bodies such as UPOV, ISTA, ISF, OECD Seed Schemes and AFSTA, positioning the country as a leader in Africa’s seed market.

In a welcome address, Dr Isaiah Gabriel of the Foundation for Sustainable Smallholders Solutions (FSSS) said that farmers often struggle not from a lack of effort but from a lack of reliable information.

He explained that the ProSeV Project, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to replace guesswork with performance data so farmers can choose varieties best suited to their land, climate and markets.

“When farmers adopt the right varieties, productivity improves, agribusiness thrives, and the entire value chain benefits,” Gabriel said.

Muhammed concluded that variety adoption sits at the intersection of science, markets and investment, stressing that data-driven seed systems would unlock Nigeria’s agribusiness potential.

Source: Punch News