Национальный совет по семенам Нигерии усилил контроль качества и сертификацию семян маниоки

Agriculture Follow Us on Google August 27, 2026 by Juliana Agbo NASC moves to strengthen cassava seed certification, quality assurance The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) has intensified efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s cassava seed system, with a renewed focus on quality assurance, effective seed certification and improved access to certified planting materials for farmers. Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NASC, Hon. Fatuhu Muhammed, said access to quality-assured seeds remained critical to increasing agricultural productivity, building farmers’ resilience and improving food and nutrition security in the country. Muhammed spoke at a two-day training for Licensed Seed Inspectors (LSIs), Seed Certification Officers (SCOs) and cassava stem-cutting producers under the Programme for Seed Systems Innovation for Vegetatively Propagated Crops in Africa (PROSSIVA), held in Abuja from August 26 to 27. He said the Council had, over the years, worked with development partners to develop a sustainable and commercially viable cassava seed system, building on interventions under the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS) programme and now PROSSIVA. He added that Licensed Seed Inspectors, Seed Certification Officers and cassava stem-cutting producers occupy critical positions in ensuring that quality planting materials reach farmers, particularly those in underserved communities. He said that while inspectors and certification officers were responsible for ensuring compliance with established seed quality standards, stem-cutting producers were essential to ensuring adequate quantities of quality cassava planting materials were available to farmers at the last mile. Muhammed urged participants to approach their responsibilities with professionalism, integrity and technical competence, warning that confidence in the country’s cassava seed certification system would depend significantly on the quality of their work. “The professionalism, technical competence and integrity of the LSIs and SCOs are essential to maintaining confidence in the cassava seed certification system,” he said. He also challenged cassava stem-cutting producers to operate as responsible seed entrepreneurs rather than focusing solely on financial returns. “Your priority should not be profit alone, but also the production and distribution of certified quality seeds to farmers,” the NASC boss said. Muhammed also disclosed that the Council had developed, validated and gazetted three regulations aimed at strengthening the regulatory and technical framework of Nigeria’s seed industry. He listed them as the National Harmonized Plant Varieties (Registration and Release) Regulations, 2025; National Early Generation Seed Production (Liberalization) Regulations, 2025; and Third-Party Seed (Certification) Regulations, 2025. According to him, the gazettement of the regulations represents a significant milestone in strengthening NASC’s regulatory oversight and improving quality assurance across the country’s seed sector. He said, however, the regulations would achieve their intended objectives only if stakeholders understood and implemented them effectively. Muhammed said the Council would therefore prioritise popularising the regulations and increasing awareness among seed producers, inspectors, certification officers and other relevant stakeholders. He noted that the PROSSIVA training provided an opportunity to deepen participants’ understanding of the regulatory framework while strengthening their technical capacity to support a reliable cassava seed system. The NASC boss further stressed that improving the cassava seed sector was important to Nigeria’s broader food security drive, particularly given cassava’s importance to millions of farmers, processors and consumers. He called for stronger collaboration among regulators, researchers, development partners, seed entrepreneurs and farmers to ensure that improved and quality-assured planting materials become more accessible across the country. Muhammed commended the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Sahel Consulting and other research institutions for supporting the implementation of PROSSIVA. He also praised the Council’s technical team and staff for their role in organising the capacity-building programme. The Director-General urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired during the training to improve seed certification and production practices, saying their performance would be critical to building a stronger, more reliable and sustainable cassava seed system in Nigeria. In his remarks, NASC Project Coordinator, Mal. Dahir Rabiu, said cassava remained a strategic crop for Nigeria’s food security, rural livelihoods and agro-industrial development, stressing that sustainable productivity must begin with farmers having access to healthy, true-to-type and quality-assured planting materials. He noted that the vegetative propagation of cassava makes the quality of planting materials particularly important because infected stems could transmit diseases from one production cycle to another. “Because cassava is vegetatively propagated, poor-quality or diseased stems can rapidly spread diseases and reduce productivity across successive production cycles. “This makes effective seed certification and quality assurance critical,” the Director said. The Council said the Licensed Seed Inspector system was an important mechanism for expanding the reach of seed inspection and certification services while ensuring that national seed quality standards were maintained. It, however, warned that expanding private-sector participation in inspection and certification must not lower standards. He said licensing seed inspectors must be accompanied by competence, integrity, professionalism and accountability because decisions taken during inspections have direct implications for seed producers, farmers and the credibility of Nigeria’s seed system. “Every inspection decision has consequences for producers, farmers and the credibility of Nigeria’s seed system,” the Director said. NASC also charged cassava stem producers and outgrowers to recognise the importance of their role in the agricultural value chain, noting that their responsibility went beyond simply multiplying planting materials. “Cassava stem producers and outgrowers must recognise that they are not merely multiplying stems; they are multiplying the foundation of farmers’ productivity and livelihoods,” the Council said. The Director said the training was designed to strengthen participants’ practical knowledge of cassava seed production, field inspection, certification, traceability and quality assurance. NASC stressed that the impact of the capacity-building programme should be determined by changes in practices across cassava-producing communities rather than merely the number of participants trained. “The success of this programme should not be measured by the number of people trained, but by improvements recorded afterwards: better field inspections, stronger compliance with certification standards, healthier planting materials and increased farmer confidence in certified cassava seed,” the Director added. The Council reiterated its commitment to building a credible, technology-driven and sustainable seed quality-assurance system capable of supporting responsible private-sector participation without compromising national standards. It urged Licensed Seed Inspectors, cassava stem producers and outgrowers participating in the programme to share their field experiences and ensure that knowledge acquired from the training was translated into improved practices across cassava seed production fields. The Director also commended the PROSSIVA team, resource persons and development partners for supporting efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s cassava seed system. NASC said improving access to certified cassava planting materials would ultimately contribute to higher productivity, protect farmers from losses associated with poor-quality stems and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s formal seed system. 📢 ADVERTISEMENT DISCLAIMER: Links above are sponsored posts. The Nation assumes no liability or responsibility for the claims, products, or services offered by third-party advertisers. Proceed with discretion. Stay informed and ahead of the curve! 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