NASC to burn fake seeds, says there is improvement in quality

The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) between November and December may have destroyed about 80 kilogramme confiscated grains in the year 2015 market raid that was carried out in about five locations of Kano, Zaria, Ibadan, Gusau and Zamfara to rid the sector of adulterated and fake seeds in the circulation thereby ensuring food security through improved quality seeds sold to farmers. 

The official burning of this fake seeds is part of the activities to eradication adulteration according to the Deputy Director, Mr. Agboola Adebayo who said, there is high reduction of grains in circulation based on this year raid in comparison to the last one in 2014.

NASC has recently carried out emergency raid at some markets in about five states of the federation where about 80kg of seeds without labels and  identification numbers  that will enable traceability in case of none performance on the field of cultivation by farmers. 

Also Mr. Adebayo said that the  Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) through the use of e-wallets cum NASC responsiveness to its  mandate in the recent time has reduced the high level of fake seeds in the circulation even as there was increase in the numbers of seeds companies saying  there was high  compliance to standard among the seed dealers as selling only quality certified seeds can translate to production performance of farmers with respect to income and job creation. 

Mr. Agboola pointed that NASC would use his mandate to constantly pursue evil perpetrators in order to ensure complete elimination of seeds adulteration stressed the need for the signing of the amended Act of the council for more proactiveness that would ensure best practice of creating the most dynamic and research oriented farmers’ supportive seed development and production.