Kaduna State, Nigeria — 24 November 2025
Value Seeds Nigeria Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading providers of certified and climate-smart seed varieties, has commissioned a state-of-the-art automated packaging line and conveyor belt system at its Value Village facility in Bagadadi, Kudan Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Powered by Propcom+ under the Capital Development Expenditure Limit (CDEL) grant, this milestone represents a significant advancement in strengthening Nigeria’s seed sector, enhancing farmers’ access to high-quality seeds, and improving resilience across agricultural value chains.
A Major Enhancement for Nigeria’s Seed Sector
The newly installed packaging line and conveyor belts will enable Value Seeds to process and package seeds faster, cleaner, and more efficiently than ever before. For more than 16 years, the company has struggled to meet the rising demand for small seed packs (1kg–10kg), which are increasingly preferred by smallholder farmers due to their affordability and convenience.
Before this upgrade, packaging a single million kilograms of small seed packs could take over a month—an enormous bottleneck in meeting farmer needs during peak planting seasons. The new automated system drastically reduces processing time, improves seed hygiene, and provides uniform labelling, weighing, and sealing—key factors that influence market competitiveness and farmer trust.
During the commissioning, the President of Value Seeds described the intervention as “the support we need at this time,” noting that it positions the company to significantly scale production ahead of the 2026 wet season.
According to the representative of Propcom+’s Country Director, Mr Osigbodi Obajulu, Technical Lead at Propcom+, “Today’s commissioning is more than the unveiling of new machinery; it is proof of what becomes possible when development programmes and private sector innovators work with a shared purpose. By automating seed processing and enabling climate-smart distribution, we are strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural markets, reducing costs for farmers, and ensuring that high-quality seeds reach those who need them most—on time, every season.”
Propcom+ Support Unlocks New Capabilities
Through the CDEL grant, Propcom+ supported Value Seeds to acquire a fully automated seed packing line, conveyor belt systems and four electric vehicles (EVs) for clean and cost-effective seed distribution.
This investment is part of the Propcom+ Climate Smart Agriculture Catalysing Grant Facility, which aims to increase productivity, raise incomes, enhance climate resilience, and lower carbon emissions through innovations in Nigeria’s agricultural system.
The EVs—which are already being used for nationwide vegetable seed distribution—have reduced logistics costs by over 90%, cutting expected transport costs from ₦195,000 (PMS) to about ₦25,000 using national grid electricity.
Stronger Market Reach, Better Seed Access
The packaging line and EVs are already catalysing change across the seed system. With increased efficiency and reduced distribution costs, Value Seeds can now produce one million kilograms of seed in 0.5kg, 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, and 10kg packs in just two weeks, expand seed distribution into 10 states using small-pack channels, increase the affordability of climate-smart seed varieties and serve thousands more farmers through rural seed promoters (RSPs) and agro-dealer networks.
In appreciation of Propcom+ support, the company has also announced a 15% nationwide discount on field crop seeds for agro-dealers and distributors for the next 12 months—an incentive expected to drive higher adoption among smallholders.
Driving Climate-Smart Agriculture Across Nigeria
This intervention directly supports Nigeria’s efforts to enhance climate resilience in the agricultural sector. Through complementary activities supported by Propcom+, Value Seeds has conducted Market Storms in 14 major markets across Kano and Kaduna to raise awareness of improved seeds, smaller pack availability, and biofortified varieties such as PVA maize and iron-rich millet, it has also established 15 demonstration plots to showcase improved seed performance, attracting farmers through 8 major and 7 mini field days, trained 351 agro-dealers on small seed packs available for the 2026 wet season, mobilized 35 Community-Based Advisors (RSPs) to prepare farmers for seed adoption, increased awareness on the use of EVs for agricultural inputs distribution, reducing carbon emissions, improved its Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) for safer, cleaner operations.
These efforts have already led to increased adoption of climate-smart practices, a rising demand for drought-tolerant maize, and greater engagement from women farmers, particularly those utilising biofortified maize for household nutrition.
Overcoming Challenges, Strengthening Partnerships
Despite delays related to international shipping, port clearance, foreign exchange instability, and EV battery capacity needs, Value Seeds successfully completed installation of all equipment—thanks to its resilient in-house technical team and support partners.
Value Seeds is now building new partnerships to scale impact further, including:
- Collaboration with IDH on biofortified seeds
- A ₦1 billion credit facility from Sterling Bank for seed production
- Partnership with Ignitia for weather forecasting and extension services
A New Era for Farmers
With the commissioning of these machines, Value Seeds is poised to deliver high-quality seeds to more farmers more quickly and affordably.
From 2026 onward, smallholder farmers—particularly women and young people—will benefit from more accessible certified seeds, improved yields, higher incomes, and greater resilience against climate-related risks.
Value Seeds remains committed to enabling prosperous, sustainable, and climate-resilient agriculture across Nigeria.
