By; AMOS MATHEW, Kaduna
Managing Director of ECOBasic Seed Company, Brighton Karume, has said that the gap the company is coming to fill is to provide quality and sustainable foundation seed solutions to seed companies producing certified seed to increase the productivity and profitability of both seed companies and farmers in Nigeria.
Karume made it known at a two-day training of the operators of seed companies in Kaduna, saying the essence is to catalyze the development of hybrid maize technology adoption rate in Nigeria.
According to him, they will be providing genetically pure foundation seed so that the true potential of hybrids is realized.
“In the short –medium term, ECOBasic will concentrate in Nigeria, whilst in the long run, it will serve the greater ECOWAS Region. It will target indigenous and international seed companies that produce certified hybrid seeds and other crops.
“Prospects for the company is to be recognized as West Africa’s most reliable source of high-quality foundation seed in order to achieve its business goals. ECOBasic needs to adopt in-house production model including own farm production of foundation seed to meet the quality assurance and productivity parameters.
Speaking earlier, the West Africa Commercial Manager of the Ecobasic Seed Company Limited, Mr. Moses Atewogboye said that the zero hunger and food security goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will be difficult to achieve in Nigeria unless and until Nigerian farmers agree to grow improved seeds.
He went further to say that, Nigerian farmers spend more on fertilizers to the tune of 5.2 metric tonnes per annum, but spend far less when it comes to improved seeds that ought to go hand-in-hand with the volume of fertilizers for maximum output.
According to him, farmers should be made to understand that the more they plant grains, the more the seed industry will suffer and the less output they will get.
“A lot of demand is coming on fertilizers consumption across the country put at well over 5.2m metric tons. So, what is happening to seed which is the primary necessity for agricultural output if people spend money on fertilizer
“So, for us to sustain agriculture and food security in Nigeria, we must cultivate the habit of purity of seed even in planting which is not going to happen overnight. People need to be conscious and deliberate about what type of seed they will grow”, he said.
