Abuja – Mr Sunday Okelola, the Coordinator of ECOWAS-initiated Rice Seed Up Scaling Programme, says farmers in seven Nigerian states will be assisted to produce 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice between 2016 and 2017.
Okelola stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
“The project is in support of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West
African States) Rice Offensive Initiative that was inaugurated in
2014.
“The main objective is to scale up the use of improved rice seeds.
“Rice has been observed to be very important for food security
sustainability in the sub-region vis-a-vis increasing the farmers’
income, creating wealth and making life better for the farming
populace.
“So, we want to see how to improve on the livelihood of people. One
way to do it is by promoting rice production, and you cannot promote
production without quality seeds.
“So, this project is looking at utilising 1,200 metric tonnes of
seeds to produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy within the two
years.
“We have split this into what we can do in 2016 and what we will do in 2017.’’
Okelola said that the two-year programme would be implemented in
Kano, Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara, Benue, Ekiti and Ebonyi states between
March 2016 and December 2017.
He said the programme was being spearheaded by the Seed Entrepreneurs
Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) in collaboration with the West and
Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development
(WECARD).
“For 2016, we are looking at producing about 48,000 tonnes of paddy
and the balance of 12,000 will be produced in 2017.
“We have also looked at where we can produce these seeds? So, we have
selected some states like Kano, Niger, Benue, Ekiti and Ebonyi where
rice is being grown.
“We are putting into mind the geopolitical differentiation in
Nigeria, and of course trying to capture the whole country.’’
Okelola identified other participants in the programme as the National
Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), seed companies, rice millers and
financial institutions like the Bank of Agriculture.
According to him, the project also covers seed planning, connecting
and building the capacity of actors as well as facilitating access to
equipment and proper storage.
“We have brought in millers including Labana, Miva, Lagos Rice, and
Onyx. We have gotten their assurance that if this is produced they
will be willing to buy.
“It goes beyond that because you cannot produce when the capacity is
not there. We are also building the capacity of about 120 persons
cutting across the various sectors of the rice value chain.
“We are equally going to promote demonstration because we know that
some varieties have been developed over time that is not in the hands
of the farmers.
“Another thing is that we noticed our seed companies don’t have
outlets. So, this project will support the establishment of 10 sales
outlets cutting across our production hub.’’
According to him, the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) will provide 800,000 dollars in funding through the West
African Seed Programme of WECARD.
Also speaking in a separate interview with NAN, Mr Olusegun Ojo, the Director General of NASC, said that the role of the council in the project was to ensure that the
participating seed companies played by the rules.
“The council, which has the responsibility of coordinating and
regulating the seed industry in Nigeria, is a key player in the
project implementation.
“Our role is to certify the seeds to be issued by the participating
companies and also to ensure that they comply with the provisions of
the Seed Act.’’
He warned the companies against sharp practices, saying that any one
of them found wanting would be sanctioned according to the law. (NAN)
