Improved seeds to resolve the surging food crisis in Nigeria
NIGERIA – Nigeria seeks to reverse the current food crisis in the country by embracing improved seeds given the challenges posed by climate change and the constraints to crop yields due to drought, heat, and cold stress.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi, gave the indication during the opening of the 6th seed connect conference and exhibition with the theme, “Global Declaration of Food Emergency: The Role of the Seed Industry and Ensuring Africa’s Food and Nutrition Security”.
Dr. Abdullahi said that to attain food self-sufficiency or improve the current food self-sufficiency levels, there’s a need to reach all potential crop production levels for major food security crops namely maize, wheat, sorghum, millet, soybean, cassava, yam, cowpeas and potatoes, among others.
He maintained that the issue of improved seeds has to be on the front burner given the challenges posed by climate change and the constraints to crop yields due to drought, heat, and cold stress, including altered soil properties due to deteriorating soil fertility, floods and diseases and pests, among others.
“All hands must be on deck as we work to deliver on the topmost national priority of President Bola Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda – food security,” the minister said.
The minister said seeds remain a biological embodiment of all production potential that set the limits of response to all agronomic inputs.
According to him, Nigeria produced 110,798 metric tonnes of seeds in 2022 which is a summation of some major seeds that are established in the formal seeds sector.
The move has become critical considering the rising level of food prices in the country despite the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) release on food inflation.
According to the CPI, “The headline inflation rose to 27.33 percent in October. Food inflation exhibited a decrease of 0.54 percent, registering at 1.91 percent in October compared to the 2.45 percent recorded in September.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in October 2023 was 1.91 percent, 0.54 percent lower, compared to the rate recorded in September 2023 (2.45 percent).”
The NBS report said, “The average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending October 2023 over the previous 12-month average was 26.33 percent, a 6.50 percent increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in October 2022 (19.83 percent).”
According to Abdakkahi, Nigeria’s production system must overcome biophysical and socioeconomic constraints causing yield gaps crop production system through the production and cultivation of improved seeds.
He reiterated that the development of new climate-resilient crops that are tolerant and adapted to biotic and abiotic stresses will require the propagation of novel crop varieties,
and the increase of new improved and adapted high-yielding varieties under water and nutrient-limited environments should be the new target.
