As part of its policy reform agenda, Propcom+ is supporting efforts to improve the performance and coordination of regulatory institutions within Nigeria’s seed sector. Nigeria’s seed sector is constrained by fragmentated regulations, bureaucratic delays, weak institutional coordination, and underdeveloped enforcement and policy implementation systems. These issues limit the availability and accessibility of quality-assured seeds for smallholder farmers and undermine the scale-up of innovations such as biofortified and climate-resilient crop varieties. The National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) and the National Variety Release Committee (NVRC) play critical roles in seed certification, standard setting, and the release of improved seed varieties, but are often constrained by systemic inefficiencies, lack of coordination, and limited stakeholder engagement.

To help address these systemic constraints, Propcom+ in partnership with HarvestPlus will be convening key stakeholders in a Seed Industry Practitioners’ Forum aimed at identifying core regulatory gaps, operational challenges, and institutional weaknesses in the seed sector. This will then inform the development of a Joint Action/ Improvement Plan and Accountability Framework to guide reform implementation, and technical support provided to NASC, NVRC, and other regulatory agencies.