Beginning from January 2021 the certification and authentication of seeds in Nigeria will be done electronically, the Federal Government announced on Monday.
It disclosed this in Abuja at a training organized by the National Agricultural Seeds Council for 75 seed certification officers drawn from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Director-General, NASC, Phillip Ojo, said the electronic authentication and certification of seeds would ensure a reliable system, enhance the country’s ability to trace seeds, and maintain quality assurance.
He said the concept of digital certification and electronic authentication was conceived about five years ago by the council, adding that it was now an institutional order where Nigeria and other countries had resolved to latch on to.
He said, “The management recognizes the need for a robust and traceable seed information data. Apart from making your schedule easier, the electronic certification process will provide a reliable system with enhanced traceability and transparency.
“The use of seed tracker will from 2021 become the sole tool for seed field inspection and certification. Therefore you know that this training is apt at this moment and please be assured that there will be more training on the subject matter till we are all in sync with the process.”
The Director Seed Certification, Quality Control, Crop Registration, and Varietal Release Department, Isiak Khalid, said the electronic authentication had been operating on a pilot scale in the cassava seeds systems project but from next year, the council would move it up to all crops.
This, he said, was the major aim of the training.
Khalid further noted that Nigeria was joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which had allowed the council to become a player in the international seed space.
He said this would further help check the infiltration of substandard seeds into Nigeria.