Journal of Biology and Nature 3(4): 132-138, 2015

International Knowledge Press www.ikpress.org

BRIDGING THE SEED MANAGEMENT GAPS IN THE NIGERIAN SEED INDUSTRY 1

K. O. OYEKALE1*, O. A. DENTON1 AND M. A. ADEBISI2

Department of Agronomy and Landscape Design, School of Agriculture and Industrial Technology Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo Ogun State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Technology, College of Plant Science and Crop Production Federal University of Agriculture, Alabata Ogun State, Nigeria. AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author KOO designed the study, wrote the protocol and interpreted the data. Author OAD coordinated the field study, while author MAA took part in sourcing for information and data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Received: 4th March 2015 Accepted: 16th April 2015 Original Research Article Published: 9th July 2015 __________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The use of improved quality crop seed cultivars by farmers has been recognized as the most important effort in boosting agricultural production and ensuring food security. Improved quality seed is not only the cheapest and basic potential of increasing yield but also fundamental in raising the efficiency of other inputs like fertilizers, agro-chemicals and agro-machinery. Greater percentage of improvement in agricultural production has come from the use of improved seed. In essence, no agricultural practices, i.e. fertilization, irrigation etc can improve crop production beyond the limit set by seed. We now have crop varieties that are higher yielding, early maturing, more resistant to diseases and pests, and better adapted to different ecologies. The means of transferring these benefits to farmers is the seed. Seeds are therefore a means of technology transfer to farmers, who have certain expectations from new crop varieties as promised by the breeders. To realize these expectations, seeds of new varieties must be made available to the farmers in adequate quantity and quality and at affordable prices. Unfortunately, the Nigerian seed industry has not fully developed the capacity to perform this role very well. For example, the current national seed uptake is less than 10%, while the regulatory and enforcement capacity in the industry has been weak. The Nigerian agricultural seed sector has evolved over the last 30 years in terms of seed science and commercial seed production capabilities. However, the sector is still under-performing in terms of meeting the agricultural seed needs of the country. Consequently, the government of Nigeria imported rice seeds in 2012, while vegetable seeds are still mostly imported through informal channels. The development and performance of the seed sector is constrained by many factors which include weak technical capacity, poor market mechanisms, in-efficient enforcement of seed law, information asymmetry, insufficient capital investment and low utilization of innovations. This study thus reviewed and analysed Nigeria's seed production development and management initiatives by identifying the weak links, areas of failure, the effectiveness or otherwise of the various bodies in the performance of their responsibilities, the effectiveness of prevailing regulatory mechanism as well as suggesting ways of improving the entire seed industry of the country. Keywords: Seeds; seed systems; seed industry; seed production; seed sector. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: [email protected];

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more serious efforts in the development of informal seed systems and the private seed sector.

1. INTRODUCTION The most important prerequisite for good crop production is the availability of good quality seeds of high yielding varieties, adapted to the growing area, and preferred by the farmers. The quality of seeds alone is known to account for an increase in productivity of at least 10–15%. To achieve this high quality, all the factors in production that will affect viability and genetic purity should be taken into account. The production techniques should be mastered and the environmental conditions known. Until farmers are provided with quality seed, particularly the improved varieties, it would be uneconomic for many countries of the world to spend precious foreign exchange on fertilizer or other agric. inputs. Investments in plant breeding varietal development would also be a waste if the improved seed are not passed on to farmers in the form of quality seeds. Crop research institutions in Nigeria (national and international) have developed many varieties of their mandate crops that are high yielding, disease and pest resistant, early-maturing, and aimed at increasing the productivity, income, and livelihoods of resource-poor farmers. It is important that improved seeds of these varieties are disseminated to farmers at the right time and in the right quantity and quality. All farming activities depend on a continuous supply of good quality seeds and planting materials. Traditionally, farmers select the best grains from their harvest and store these for use as seeds in the following season. But having enough for reproduction in the coming season has become increasingly difficult as a result of a drop in crop yield and the food shortage that has made it difficult for farmers to save enough seeds. The alternative is to turn to commercially produced seeds. Seed systems have close linkages with other systems, particularly research and extension. Without an effective extension system, quick response to farmers’ needs, it would be difficult to develop a seed system, particularly in the informal category [1]. Research on the other hand, has responsibilities for the development of both formal and informal seed systems. This study is designed to follow up recent developments and/or failure in the different components that make up the seed management systems in Nigeria. The aim is to further deemphasize attention on dependence on government or government agencies for the development of the nation’s seed system and re-emphasize the need for

2. OVERVIEW OF NIGERIA AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL POLICY Before Nigeria’s independence and in the early 1960s, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy and accounted for over 50% of the Total Gross Domestic Product [2]. Over 70% of the nation’s labour force was employed in the agricultural sector that also provided the nation’s food and raw materials for the growing industries. Nigeria’s government provided little support which was concentrated on export crops such as cocoa, groundnut, palm produce, rubber, and cotton, as self-sufficiency in food production seemed not to constitute any problem [3,4]. Agricultural production over this period was predominantly traditional, as farmers made use of mainly local varieties of crops and livestock and adopted mostly cultural practices and implements in their production. By late 1960s and early 1970s, there were signs of problems existing in the agriculture sector. Shortages in food supply and increases in food prices, for example, were noticed. By the mid 1970s, the contribution of agriculture to the nation’s GDP had declined remarkably to about 26% and the food deficit gap had widened significantly. There were also shortfalls in government revenue from agriculture, in foreign exchange earnings from agricultural exports. This situation was attributed to the devastation of many farmlands during the Nigerian Civil War, 19671970; the diversion to the oil sector to the neglect of the agricultural sector, drought in some parts of the country, migration of labour from the agricultural sector, low agricultural output, rising food prices, and increasing population. There were also the effects of government fiscal and monetary policies [3]. In a bid to revitalise the agricultural sector and salvage the situation, the government initiated several policies and agricultural development programs and projects in context with three successive national development plans executed 1970-74, 1975-80 and 1981-85. These included the National Accelerated Food Production Program, Operation Feed the Nation, Green Revolution, and the creation of River Basin Development Authorities, and Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs). The need to transform traditional agriculture through the adoption of modern farm technologies was realised and incorporated in these programs. Modern farm technologies are known to be technically and economically more efficient than the traditional system [5-9]. Despite these efforts, the performance of Nigeria’s agricultural sector was still poor. The food supply demand gap widened, food prices rose tremendously; and agriculture’s

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contribution to GDP declined to about 23% by the mid 1980s [2]. Experience from these policies, programs and projects, however, convinced the government that there was no alternative to welldesigned and articulate agricultural policies and instruments for promoting agricultural growth and development in Nigeria [4]. In pursuance of this, the first comprehensive agricultural policy was formulated in 1985. The policy instruments, which were to remain valid for the next 15 years, were composed of macroeconomic policies, agricultural sector policies, and policies for the support services. The macro-economic policies included pricing, trade, exchange rate, and agricultural land policies. The sector-specific policies included food production, input supply, and subsidy policies while the support service policies included agricultural technology generation and extension, agricultural credit, insurance, produce marketing, and research. The ultimate goal of Nigeria’s agricultural policy is the attainment of self-sustaining growth in all the subsectors as well as the realisation of the structural transformation necessary for the overall socioeconomic development of the rural areas. Input supply, which includes seeds, water, land, fertilizer and agro-chemicals, was also identified as one of the strategies for achieving food selfsufficiency. Of all yield-enhancing inputs in crop production, seeds give the most dramatic and most cost-effective return on investment. Improved seeds have provided 50% of the productivity gains in agriculture. The other 50% has come from improvement in management, including timeliness, best use of fertilizer, crop protection measures and equipment [10]. The development and use of high yielding seed varieties has been the technological force behind the reduction of rural poverty, successful Green Revolutions, and abundant food at prices profitable for farmers and affordable to the population in most developing countries, particularly China, India, southwest Asia, the Pacific, and many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean [11-13]. In Nigeria, the National Seed Service Unit (NSS) was created in 1975 with a mandate of producing foundation and certified seeds as well as to arrange for seed certification. Due largely to increased awareness by farmers of the superiority of improved seeds over local [14], the demand for improved seeds rose so much that NSS was finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy the farmers. The ADPs had to complement the efforts of NSS in seed production. They started to produce their own improved seeds and to multiply on their own seed farms any improved seeds they could obtain from the NSS, the research institutes, and emerging private seed organizations. International and national research centres in Nigeria have developed a

number of high yielding and improved seed varieties and hybrids but the benefits of using improved seeds have not been maximized. Available data indicate, among others, inadequate availability and use of such seeds. With the aim to promote and stimulate increased access to improved high yielding and quality seeds, as well as the development of a dependable seed industry, to regulate and control the registration of released varieties, the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1992 promulgated the National Agricultural Seed Decree (Decree No 72, 1992). The decree also paved way for establishing the National Agricultural Seed Council. This Decree thus provides the legal backing to the seed policy by regulating the various aspects of seed production, marketing, and quality control activities in Nigeria.

3. THE SEED SUPPLY SITUATION IN NIGERIA The seed system can be either formal or informal. The formal system generally consists of public sector research institutions, seed companies, and organizations (National Agricultural Seed Council) responsible for seed certification and quality control. The certified seeds (CS) used for commercial crop production are produced mainly by five seed companies: Premier Seeds ltd, Alheri Seeds, Nagari Seeds (all in Zaria), Seed Project (Kano), and Savanna Seeds, Jos. Although there are a few emerging suppliers, these are the leaders in terms of infrastructure and branch network, and have been around for quite some time. It was estimated that about 62,250 t of CS of the major cereals and legumes would be required by 2010. The total production by these seed companies is less than 10% of this national requirement. Furthermore, their focus is mainly on hybrids and a few open-pollinated crops; other crops, such as cassava, and millet, are not in their production profile. The informal system consists of large numbers of farmers who produce both traditional and improved varieties and market their own production. A larger percentage of the smallholder farmers’ seed requirements is met through the informal sector. It is therefore important to give due recognition to the informal sector and to use it as a vehicle for providing resource-poor farmers with quality seeds of improved varieties of crops at affordable prices.

4. SEED DISSEMINATION COMPANIES

BY

SEED

Identified channels of seed Dissemination in Nigeria include: distributors who sell wholesale, stockists (retailers), agricultural organizations or programs and projects, and also through direct supply to farmers. Different levels of discount are provided, depending

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on volume. It is important to realize that seeds are alive (they contain a dormant embryo) during the dissemination process and should be handled with a lot of care. In spite of these channels, it has been established that the seeds of these companies do not get to resource-poor farmers because the dealers who stock them are limited to State capitals and some LGAs. There is, therefore, a compelling need for a complementary dissemination strategy that will get the improved seeds as close as possible to the farm. This new dissemination system is the community seed strategy for farmer-to-farmer seed diffusion.

5. SEED PRODUCTION, DEMAND AND MARKETING IN NIGERIA Prior to the establishment of the National Seed Service (NSS) in 1976 and the emergence of the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in the 1970s, the production and institution of improved seeds were largely handled by the individual research institutes with such crop mandate [15]. Consequent upon this loose and unregulated arrangement, seed production and distribution were cost – ineffective and timely provision of improved seeds to farmers was greatly hampered. With the coming on stream of the NSS, the functions of the various agencies involved in the national Seed Programme were redefined to boost production and distribution of certified seeds in the country [15]. The responsibility for producing certified seeds has now become that of the State Seed Multiplication Units (SMUs), the ADPs, both of which sometimes employ the services of contract growers and the existing private seed companies. Similarly, community seed multiplication has been included. Increases in the output of agricultural crops depend not only on the development of higher yielding varieties of seeds, but also on the efficiency of the system available to ensure that these seeds reach the farmer on time, at the right place, and at affordable prices. An efficient seed marketing system is thus an essential component of activities to increase productivity and enhance food security.

6. DEMAND FOR SEEDS The demand for certified seeds is still very low. Quite a small percentage of farmers use certified seeds in the country, although there is a significant increase in the demand for cereal crop and vegetable seeds, such as those for maize and sorghum. Incidence of carryover stock is common in the company’s warehouses. Brands of maize seeds include hybrid maize, Obasuper-1, New Kaduna, Oba-super-2, and Oba-98, exclusively produced by Premier Seeds, and improved open-pollinated varieties of maize, sorghum, cowpea,

groundnut, cotton, and vegetables. The adoption of improved seeds remains very low because farmers still prefer their own seeds and are not easily persuaded about their traditional stock.

7. SEED SUPPLY National Seed Service (NSS) is responsible for coordinating development, monitoring policy, and implementing quality control in the seed industry. Agricultural institutes are responsible for the production of breeder seeds. NSS and the private sector produce foundation seeds while the private sector produces certified seeds. Certified seeds are sold to farmers through public and private sector markets. Public sector seed sales are made to farmers through farm service centres, ADPs, and cooperatives. There are a number of private seed companies that obtain breeder seeds from national research institutes and International agricultural research centres, such as IITA, ICRISAT, and AfricaRice. The companies produce certified seeds through an out-growers’ scheme. An informal seed market also operates that provides farmers with improved, but uncertified seeds. The supply of improved seeds has increased substantially with the emergence of private commercial seed companies. The total production of certified seeds from the private seed companies can be estimated to be about 5000 t. There is, however, a great deal of underutilization of the companies’ capacity.

8. SEED MARKETING Seed markets in Nigeria can be classified by geographical area into national, regional, local, eastern, north, western, and middle belt, and to divisions according to climatic variation. For instance, the Nigerian market should take into consideration all the States and the Federal Capital Territory. A regional market consists of a number of States in the region, e.g., the middle belt region. Cultural preferences and tastes are taken into consideration. These are reasons why some companies establish zones for an effective coverage and better targeting of seed products to relevant zones of the country. Promotion is an essential activity within marketing. It creates awareness that stimulates interest in the product or brand. This aspect however has been neglected or given little attention over time.

9. DEVELOPMENT OF A MARKETING NETWORK The seed-marketing subsector has been relatively dominated by the private sector, although the public sector has been providing support in the area of regulating policies and infrastructure. The market is

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inefficient and works fairly well but links in the chain are weak or completely separated. To facilitate sustainable access to seeds and supplementary inputs, the farmer’s partnership between public and private stakeholders must be strengthened. Organizations such as the Seed Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) that draws members from all sectors of agriculture must be revived. The seed marketing system could be made effective by the promotion of the agribusiness concept in the rural market. This will entail a program of training and networking to improve farmers’ access to seeds and complementary support services. Benefits of such training will include improved business management, book and record keeping, product knowledge, and credit mobilization. The profitability of fertilizer use by a farm heavily depends on the seed subsector producing and distributing certified seeds.

that seed has to be developed within a stable political and legal environment, which ensures a release of new varieties of quality seed to farmers in a sustainable manner. This, he said, must however be supported by appropriate agricultural policies.

Some of the preconditions for the provision of sustainable seed marketing may include, creating a conducive micro-policy environment, building human capital for market development, improving access to finance, developing and implementing a regulatory framework, promoting marketing transparency through information systems and promoting technology transfer activities.

Breeder seed production involves long-term research input, requiring skill and expertise, materials, and equipment. For example the inadequate funding of the research institutes and the NSS makes it difficult for them to engage effectively in varietal development and evaluation on a more regular basis. The output of the research institutes is far below what is required to meet the growing requirement for improved seeds and seed technology. Not only are funds reportedly inadequate, they are usually disbursed late, resulting in distortions in the breeding process. Acquisition of the necessary materials and equipment has been a problem and staff working with such inputs end up demoralised after much delay.

10. CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE SEED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS [16] identified various categories of farmers based on agro climatic and resource endowment factors. This will enable people to plan seed production strategies suitable for each of them. The author suggested that farmers should be classified according to their risk tolerance capacity. This was in the range of low to medium and high tolerance capacities. Some farmers cannot afford the cash outlay involved in purchasing seed, and therefore can be helped to increase production through better use of their own saved seed. These groups were categorized as ‘low’. Those with small outlay were categorised as ‘medium’; while farmers who constitute the potential market for the ‘certified’ seed of hybrids and open – pollinated varieties ‘high’. [16] pointed out that many seed systems generally focus more on this end, and less on the strategies suitable for the other categories of farmers. Seed management systems should cover all crops many farmers grow. This should include vegetatively propagated crops and crops with high seed rate or low multiplication rate. The varieties have to be appropriate and they must also have a number of desirable characteristics if they are to be adopted by farmers and used successfully. It was further stressed

11. ASSESSMENT OF THE SEED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN NIGERIA 11.1 Constraints Resulting from Ineffective Implementation of Seed Policy Virtually all the units and sectors involved in seed development in Nigeria are engulfed in one problem or another, resulting in observed poor performance. Some of these problems are identified as: 11.1.1 Low production of breeder seeds

11.1.2 Poor seed certification and quality control arrangements The laboratories required for seed testing, seed certification, and quality control are not adequate, and those available are poorly equipped. The central seed laboratory at the NSS headquarters is yet to be properly equipped and put into use. Trained staff to conduct the exercise in many localities is inadequate in number. As a result, there have been cases of unlabelled seeds being sold in markets and stores, and many farmers have had the misfortune of buying adulterated seeds. 11.1.3 Poor seed distribution arrangement Improved seeds produced by the public sector were sold to the farmers through farmers’ supply companies, agro service centers, ADPs, cooperative societies, etc. Presently, some of these centres are not working in some states, with the result that farmers in such areas now get seeds mostly from private seed companies (if any) and from seed traders/dealers in the open market. Such farmers pay exorbitant prices,

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and also run greater risks of buying unviable seeds due to poor storage and handling by the seed traders. 11.1.4 Reduced activity of the National Seed Council (NSC) The NSC has a pivotal role to play in the development of the nation’s seed industry, including the production of foundation seeds, supervision, monitoring and quality control, etc. While the NSC has a cadre of experts, activities have been slowed down or hampered by inadequate and delayed funding to perform quality control functions and research support services. It was reported that many of these activities are no longer performed effectively due to inadequate funds. The NSC, for instance, has not been able to produce adequate quantities of foundation seeds from the breeder seeds received from the research institutions. Also, inadequate number of trained personnel at the field as well as insufficient resources for training and technical assistance to contract growers has constrained the development of the seed market. Although the unit has representations at the regional and state levels, its activities, especially in terms of seed quality control and seed certification, have also been reduced due to inadequate trained staff and financial constraints. These result in low output, and hence inadequate supply of certified seeds to the farmers, adulterated and unlabelled seeds on the market. 11.1.5 Lack of resources for information dissemination

training

and

The units charged with training manpower to handle the technical aspects of the seed industry are constrained by inadequate finance, equipment, and logistics. It was reported that staff training has been stalled; hence they lack staff to assist in seed testing, quality control, and in providing technical assistance to contract growers. Information about the seed industry, especially about the availability of improved seed varieties, is not readily disseminated to the farmers due to inadequate extension agents. 11.1.6 Poor seed distribution networks and rural infrastructures Most rural areas are inaccessible due largely to the poor nature of the roads. This hindered the movement and performance of staff whose activities are required in the rural communities. Supply of improved seed varieties in such rural areas is also affected. Hence, farmers in such communities are deprived of the benefits of improved technology. One of the consequences of poor rural roads is the high cost of input delivery. The few dealers who find their ways into such rural areas often exploit the farmers through

charging high prices for their stock. The NSS has put in place the Community Seed Development Program with the aim to diffuse the improved seeds into rural communities. However, this scheme is not yet available nation-wide.

12. CONCLUSION Nigeria’s Seed Industry has not developed remarkably about a decade after the formulation of the National Seed Policy and the enabling Agricultural Seed Decree No. 72 of 1992. It is observed that the various bodies involved in the implementation of Nigeria’s Seed Policy have not performed creditably. There still exist problems associated with non-availability of adequate quantities of certified seeds to the farmers due to low production of breeder and foundation seeds as well as poor seed distribution and information dissemination networks; slow release of improved varieties which encourages the dominance of the local low-yielding crop varieties; and the existence of adulterated, unviable and infested seeds due to poor implementation of seed quality regulatory mechanisms. Effective implementation of the seed policy by the relevant bodies had been constrained, among others, by inadequate manpower and financial resources, as well as institutional problems. The private seed industry is viable although the profitability level is comparatively low. This situation resulted mainly from the use of inadequate quantities of production inputs due to high costs, macroeconomic instability, low demand, and unhealthy price competition with public seed sector, among others. Addressing these problems effectively at both policy and industry levels will provide the much needed push to realise the objectives of the seed policy. Moreover, all seed related activities and programmes of the Federal Government should fall within the purview of the Council for proper coordination to avoid duplication and dissipation of available resources. Seed should be accorded the foremost recognition and attention as given to fertilizer by the Federal and State Governments as seed determines the efficiency of all investment in agro-inputs fertilizers inclusive. Any investment in fertilizer without equal if not more investment in seeds that will use the fertilizer is wasted exercise. There is need also for adequate funding of the National Seed sub-sector for the implementation of the time-bound activities and programmes. Considering the increased private sector participation in seed industry development, there is an urgent need to beef up the seed quality assurance scheme by establishing satellite seed testing laboratories in the state and local governments to support the private sector seed production and marketing.

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DISCLAIMER This manuscript was presented in the conference. Conference name: “Agric Business Trade Show and Conference,” Conference link is “http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kehinde_Oyekal e/publication/262673882_Seed_Management_System s_in_Nigeria_The_Gap_and_the_Bridge/links/02e7e5 3860092680f0000000?ev=pub_ext_doc_dl&origin=p ublication_detail&inViewer=true ” International Conference Centre Abuja, 26 - 28 August, 2014.

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COMPETING INTERESTS Authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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