By NAN
The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), has trained over 20 rice farmers in Abuja, from Badeggi community of Niger State on a two-days capacity building workshop on community rice seed production to help promote food security in the country.
In his keynote address, the Acting DG of NASC, Dr. Ishiak Othman Khalid, said the workshop is aimed at promoting aimed at empowering local community Based seed producers in ensuring sustainable agriculture, food/nutritional security, and environmental conservation.
Dr. Khalid, reiterated that the Departments initiative also seeks to address the pressing need to improve farmers’ access to quality seeds, knowledge, and other resources for small-scale farmers within our communities.
According to him, it is also an initiative that has been on in North East region States such as; Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States, the initiative is also currently in operation in South east state (Enugu).
“It has been discovered over time that the poor resource farmers in our rural communities predominantly depend on agriculture for livelihood, yet they are faced with lots of challenges such as; inadequate access to high-quality seeds, limited knowledge on modern farming practices and climate change-related threats to agricultural productivity.
“You will agree that access to quality seeds in rural Nigerian communities is a critical factor in improving agricultural productivity, food /nutritional security, and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. However, it is important to also note that majority of our farmers in the rural area have little or no access to improved seed.
“In an effort to address this scenario, NASC is vigorously advancing the concept of community- Based seed programme which is also helping in promoting seed-saving practices thereby preserving our traditional crop varieties as well as contribute to long-term food security and agricultural sustainability in our communities,” he said.
On her part, the Acting Director, Easter Mahdi Aliyu, said the Department is saddled with the responsibility of taking seed business to the grassroot to help yield improved food production in the country.
The Acting Director maintained that the farmers selected from 20 cooperative groups from Niger State were trained on rice seed production to enhance quality product and better yield among rice farmers for food sustainability.
“The primary objectives of the Community-Based Seed Program are, to enhance Access to Quality Seeds, Promote Sustainable Agriculture, Empower Local Farmers and Build Community Resilience,” she said.
However, she called on the participants to take the training workshop seriously, so that at the end of the day they will be equipped with the adequate knowledge to help impact on other farmers when they get home.
The Principal Agric Officer, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), Shehu Musa Ibrahim, revealed that one of the major causes of low productivity in rice farming in the country was due to absence of quality seeds among farmers.
According to him, there was need for interventions to adequately address the challenges to help bridge the gap of low productivity, while assuring that the Ministry has put all measures in place to increase rice production in the country.
One of the participants, Mr. Zacchaeus Salawu, who spoke on behalf of other farmers thanked the Ministry for the training workshop, and assured that that the knowledge acquired from the program would go a long way to improve rice production in Niger State. (NAN) (www.nanmews.ng)