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NASC trains officers on digital seed certification, onboard pilot license seed inspectors

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The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC)has improved the capacity of 25 newly engaged officers on digital seed certification using the National Seed tracker platform.
This is even as the Council has onboarded the licensed Seed Inspectors in some selected pilot states.


Giving his opening remarks at the two-day training workshop on digital seed certification, the Acting Director General, Dr. Ishiak Othman Khalid, said the council is committed to building the capacity of newly recruited certification and scientific office with deep interest in the digital seed certification appraisal system to ensure the system is at par with international best practices.


He said the Council is committed to ensuring that seed companies have the best-improved productivity, increased competitiveness for their seeds in the global seed space, and increased crop yield to compete in the international space.


“Our fundamental focus as a Council is on progressive strengthening and transforming of the practices of stakeholders in the seed value chain, such that the value creation at each level of the chain creates enough vested interest for all players to keep the system going.


“As part of our commitment to ensure national food security through agricultural sustainability and development of the seed industry in Nigeria, the Council has a world-class molecular diagnostic facility which can detect pathogens, variety identification using SSR markers, train purity testing, zygosity test, transgenic detection in GMOs among other tests using diagnostics tools.


The national Seeds tracker is an ICT solution to integrate supply chain functions and life seed systems to the Next Generation. Its vision is to organize seed production information, enable seed quality monitoring and certification, and empower every seed value chain actor to foster sustainable seed production for high productivity and profit.


Also, the Director, of Seed Certification and Quality Control, Ubandoma Mohammed, said the training aimed to enhance the capacity of the newly employed staff, so they would be able to fit effectively into the workings of the Council.


“WE are moving with time due to the technology of the time, we are training on digital seed certification using the national seed tracker. We have gone ICT and our report is partly being covered by our staff on the field using ICT. This training is not only for our staff, we are scaling it down to other stakeholders and the seed companies too.


“The training is very important because the President has declared a state of emergency on the food sector, therefore tasking the Ministry to ensure food availability. As we are speaking now the ministry has commenced distribution of inputs to farmers.

These inspectors are those that would go to the field to ensure that what is been planted are good and that they are seeds the farmers can use to get a good harvest.,” he said.

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Agriculture

Farmer/herder clashes: Lawmaker seeks implementation of extant laws on ranching

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A member of House of Representatives, Nnamdi Ezechi, has advocated for strict implementation of extant laws prohibiting open grazing in the states.


Ezechi stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja while reacting to the recent killing of a member of a vigilance group in his constituency, Mr Ogonegbu Chukwunomnazu.


The lawmaker, representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West and Ukwuani in the lower legislative chamber, while condemning the killing, reiterated the imperatives of implementing extant laws on open grazing by states.


He urged the Inspector-General of Police to help fish out the killers of his constituent and bring them to justice.


“I call on the I-GP to rise up to the occasion by apprehending those behind the killing of the vigilante member.


“I also expect the police and other security agencies to help implement laws by various states, including Delta, that prohibit open grazing and provide for cattle ranching,” he said.


According to him, it is wrong for people to cause disadvantage to others with their own businesses.


The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmaker had earlier raised the matter through a motion of urgent national importance on the floor of the house.


NAN also reports that the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, had also called on the inspector-general of police and other security agencies to swing into action on the matter.
 Copied From NAN

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