FG Deepens Seed Development Drive For Food Security

Federal authorities has promised to fortify Nigeria’s effect strategy and execute nutrient sovereignty done policies, innovation, and planetary partnerships designed to alteration the cultivation sector.

The curate of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated this during the 2025 World Food Forum Global “Seeds to Foods” Exhibition organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations successful Rome.

In a connection issued by the ministry’s caput of Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, Kyari highlighted the FAO–Türkiye–Nigeria South–South Cooperation Programme arsenic 1 of the cardinal initiatives driving advancement successful Nigeria’s cultivation transformation.

The programme, helium noted, focused connected improving dryland farming, boosting nutrient production, reducing poverty, enhancing effect quality, and strengthening planetary partnerships, with Borno State serving arsenic the aviator site.

“We spot large imaginable to standard up this initiative, not lone to amended livelihoods successful Borno State but besides to presumption Nigeria arsenic a determination hub for the accumulation and export of high-value crops, with our immense arable land, entrepreneurial farmers, and the enactment of FAO, Türkiye, and different partners, we tin unlock caller markets and thrust inclusive cultivation growth.”

“When we fortify our seeds, we fortify our farmers; erstwhile we unafraid our seeds, we unafraid our nation’s future,” helium said.

Kyari explained that the programme is built connected cognition speech and assets sharing, focusing connected the instauration of improved harvest varieties, husbandman training, and infrastructure improvement specified arsenic irrigation systems to enactment year-round cultivation.

He revealed that the inaugural had introduced 10 Turkish harvest varieties alongside 5 section Nigerian types, established 219 tract demonstrations and 14 effect multiplication plots, and identified October 15 arsenic the optimal sowing model for higher yields.

According to him, the task has produced 7.5 tonnes of seed, including 684 kilograms from recently introduced legumes specified arsenic chickpea and lentil. It besides trained 186 participants, including 55 women, done capacity-building programmes and speech visits to Türkiye connected effect processing, worth addition, and post-harvest handling.

The programme’s full concern of USD 200,000 covered training, demonstrations, and organization development, with infrastructure enactment that included boreholes and tract instrumentality to alteration irrigation and dry-season farming.

“To prolong this progress, we indispensable beforehand policies that foster transparency, innovation, and backstage assemblage participation; put successful probe to make climate-resilient, high-yielding varieties; fortify certification and prime assurance systems; and empower the National Agricultural Seeds Council to service some nationalist and determination markets with certified, high-quality seeds,” Kyari added.

Kyari praised the authorities of the Republic of Türkiye and FAO for their partnership, which has introduced caller crops specified arsenic lentils, fenugreek, coriander, chickpea, achromatic cumin, buckwheat, and adust beans to Nigeria’s drylands.

These crops, helium said, contiguous promising opportunities for improved nutrition, income generation, and clime resilience, marking a important measurement toward diversifying Nigeria’s cultivation base.