Premier new MD promises seeds availability to farmers

The new Managing Director (MD)/ CEO, Premier Seeds Nigeria Limited Mr. Ibitoye Oyewale Olumide has said the company will not relent in ensuring food security through availability of improved seeds to farmers in Nigeria and cross West African Countries.

He made this promise while speaking with Food Farm News in his office at Zaria  that fundamentally food security starts with the use of improved seeds along with all others best agronomics practices, saying the company alone is producing 50% of the total thirty percent of national seeds requirement in the country.

He stressed with more registered available improved seeds for commercialization, the company is also very disposed to expansion of the business through market coverage for easy access to farmers in Nigeria and other neighbouring countries, saying presently they were in about twenty states of the federation.

He pointed that premier seeds, the foremost leading company is very much concerned about how certified seeds would get to farmers saying that  ''we have increased our distributors per each local government from 3-6 in order to allow them know the source of their improved seeds for sustainability ’’

‘’Majority of farmers are left to the choice of meeting their seeds need through uncertified source due to poor access to good ones. We have decided to increase our market coverage to checkmate this challenge in Nigeria and other West African Countries’’ said the new MD.

He cited example of vitamin A fortified maize of the company popularly called (Oba-Super (6) as a premium product with other varieties of seeds that produce good yield to meet the need of farmers and food sustainability.

Speaking on the production of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops like cotton and cowpea that have been officially registered and release for commercial production, he said ‘’ all our products presently are not GMOs, and until we are licensed to produce such that we will do that, and also the management would have to also take decision on that ‘’

He also hinted that the company would soon start producing vegetable seeds like tomato, cucumber and pepper to checkmate huge import bills being expended on them yearly, saying presently the on farm trial in collaboration with National Horticultural Research Institute (HIHORT) is ongoing with expectation of result very soon.

On projection for the next two years as the new MD he said ’My own projection for the next two years is business development in terms of what can done to enhance the business in terms of production driven by market. Presently our production capacity is 10,000 tons -15,000 tons per annual. My plan is how we can sell all that we have produced within Nigeria and other West African Countries. How can we increase our production with market driven approach after knowing the need of farmers? How can we improve on their areas of identified needs? All these are what i am going to work on in the next two years for more market coverage.

Mr. Olumide  took over the mantle of Premier seeds Nigeria Limited leadership from Prof. Oyediji Ogungbile who has meritoriously worked to his retirement age with high level of achievements left behind for the new MD.