The Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo says Nigeria is getting it right by closing its borders and restricting FOREX on importation of food, especially rice.
Ojo, represented by Dr Ishiak Khalid, the Director, Seed Certification and Quality Control of the council, spoke during a symposium organised by the Council in Abuja.
The symposium was tagged: “Making Quality Seeds Available, Accessible and Affordable to Nigeria Farmers’’.
Ojo said that the closure of borders would go a long way in addressing food security issues and security challenges.
“As it stands, there is guaranteed market for anyone who is willing to produce.
“From my interaction with people, everybody is looking for rice field to produce, and as a nation, we cannot continue to empower farmers from other nations leaving our own.
“In advanced economies, it is observed that the richest people are farmers, therefore, it is time for us to look at what they are doing that we are not doing,’’ Ojo said.
According to him, China closed its border in order to address this type of issue and to stimulate domestic food production in that country.
Ojo said that such experience usually came with pains “but it is normal and will encourage domestic food production.’’
“We should be thinking of exporting not importing rice which we can produce in abundance. Recently, we hear of the price of crude oil coming down and oil not selling.
“If that is the case, why do we need to use our little FOREX to be purchasing food instead of defining what we want to eat and not just what is being given to us,’’ Ojo said.
Mr Idris Aliyu, the Director, Seed Industry Development, Technical Support and Commercial Services said the symposium was part of NASC’s strategy of making quality seeds available, accessible and affordable to farmers.
He said the NASC was working to put in place superstructures to make this possible.
On the availability of seeds, he disclosed the first step was to liberalise the seed sector, whereby every entrepreneur was given opportunity to invest in agribusiness within the seed value chain.
“We are proud to tell you that NASC so far, has registered not less than 314 seed companies in their various categories in the country,’’ he said.
On the accessibility of seeds, he said NASC had developed mechanisms by creating seed marketing companies and developing novel ideas in seed marketing systems.
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