With
a focus on consolidating the achievements of the ATA in country, a
three-day training on seed certification and quality control recently
held at the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) in Zaria.
The training which was facilitated by
the federal government had in attendance members of the NYSC, NASC
certification officers, internal quality control and seed production
officers of seed companies as participants.
Speaking at the training, the Acting
Director-General, National Agriculture Seed Council (NASC) Dr. Philips
Olusegun- Ojo disclosed the intention of the federal government to reach
20 million farmers in 2015 with fertilizers for the farming season.
According to him, the enormous success
achieved with the reach of over ninety (90) percent of ATA registered
farmers through the 2014 Growth Enhancement Support (GES), has driven
countries like China, Brazil, Kenya and Tanzania to come borrow a leaf
from Nigeria.
While commending the initiative of the
ATA to influence the view of farming as a business rather than a
traditional profession with a bleak future, he commented that the task
of making high quality seeds available to the farming population was
enormous and required the joint effort of all key stakeholders including
all tiers of government, cooperative societies, private organizations
as well as individuals to ensure the sustainability of the initiative,
noting the reluctance of some state governments in extending the
necessary support to enhance the success of ATA in their respective
states.
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