Kano, Nigeria – 31 July 2025
Food is vital to human survival and a key driver of economic and biological growth. However, the foundation of any productive agricultural system lies in the quality of seeds available to farmers. With Nigeria’s population surpassing 200 million, there is an urgent need to ensure access to quality-assured, climate-smart, and nutrient-rich seeds to guarantee national food security.
The National Seed Policy provides a regulatory framework for seed development, certification, production, distribution, and marketing. It emphasises the importance of a pluralistic and private sector-led seed industry while safeguarding the role of public institutions in research and regulatory oversight. Yet, despite this policy, Nigeria’s seed industry still faces persistent challenges ranging from fragmented regulations and bureaucratic bottlenecks to limited commercialisation, weak institutional linkages, and underinvestment in research infrastructure. These issues have hindered the widespread adoption of improved seed varieties by smallholder farmers across the country.
- Review the progress of the National Seed Policy implementation
- Identify institutional and structural gaps
- Co-create a joint action plan
- Establish an accountability framework for enhanced sector performance
Driving Systemic Change in Nigeria’s Seed Ecosystem
The two-day convening brought together key seed sector actors, including the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), the National Variety Release Committee (NVRC), seed companies, research institutes, farmers’ groups, and industry associations.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Adiya Ode, Country Representative and Political Director at Propcom+, represented by Mrs Gloria Ekpo, emphasised Propcom+’s commitment to ensuring an efficient value chain:
“As a programme, we are committed to identifying critical regulatory constraints in the Nigerian Seeds System to increase the demand for climate-resilient and nutrient-dense seed varieties while increasing Smallholder Farmer’s access.”
Participants collectively reviewed critical issues across the seed value chain, such as:
Crop and seed improvement constraints, fragmented research coordination, inadequate gene banks and indigenous varieties, weak breeder development systems and misalignment between breeding and commercialisation, among other issues.
Additionally, delayed approval processes, underutilised seed release mechanisms, and insufficient public-private linkages were discussed.
Toward Accountability and Shared Ownership
Through Propcom+’s technical facilitation, stakeholders co-developed a joint action plan and an accountability framework to monitor progress on the National Seed Policy and ensure inclusive participation from both public and private actors.
“This process is not just a consultation, it’s a commitment to co-implementation,” one participant noted. “The momentum we build here must be sustained through collaboration, transparency, and strategic investment.”
Looking Ahead: A Certified Seed System for Prosperity
The event concluded with renewed enthusiasm for reforming Nigeria’s seed sector. Propcom+ will continue to work closely with stakeholders to enhance the availability, affordability, and uptake of improved seed varieties—ensuring climate resilience, productivity gains, and better livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
This convening fosters trust, dialogue, and evidence-based reforms, laying the groundwork for a modernised and accountable seed industry, one that works for farmers, advances food security, and supports economic growth.
