Farmers raise questions on GES improved seeds

In recent years, Nigerian government has made attempts to transform the agricultural sector, through the provision of modern inputs such as fertilisers, improved seeds and agro-chemicals that are critical to the attainment of the desired productivity increases and output under the federal government’s agricultural transformation agenda (ATA).

However, some of these inputs are reported not available in the right quantity, quality and price.

In furtherance to that, the private sector agro-input business enterprises (agro-dealers) are assigned a critical role, especially in implementation of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, which took off in 2012.

Under the scheme, farmers are to benefit directly from an innovative electronic system of delivering subsidised inputs in which the subsidy payments are delivered directly to the beneficiaries through mobile phones.

One of the major things underpinning the implementation of the GES is the withdrawal of the federal government from the procurement and distribution of fertilisers and improved seeds in 2011.

GES operation began in 2012 with the sole aim of decontaminating the input distribution system and promoting effective service delivery.

Through the GES farmers are provided with improved seeds, especially rice and maize. However, some of these farmers claim that they are not being given improved seeds but grains as their yields failed to show any sign of improvement.

According to Malam Isah Usman Barbaji, in 2013 he got an alert requesting him to go to Karaye and collect his fertiliser and improved seeds, which he did. He added that the seeds were not different from those he previously planted.

But for Bala Sani of same address, there was a remarkable improvement on his yield when he used the improved seeds he collected from the collection point Isah got his from.

Similarly, many farmers have raised questions on the genuineness of the improved seed obtained through GES, with a number of them preferring to buy their seeds from reputable seeds companies. Some farmers say that they have lost confidence in the GES seeds.

What used to cause the difference in results experienced by the farmers may be the adulteration of the improved seeds or poor agricultural practices.

According to Auwalu Balarabe Wudil, the Chief Executive Officer, Maina Seeds Limited, Kano, prior to the intervention of the federal government, under the GES, farmers were reluctant to buy seeds from seed companies as they found it more convenient to use their own saved seed.

He said that when the minister of agriculture commissioned the seed companies to provide certified seeds to farmers, the farmers became aware of such seeds and the demand for such seeds increased tremendously.

When asked about adulterated seeds, he said: “I can’t rule the possibility of such, but I am not in a position to say it is in circulation or not. As a seed company, we have mandate to produce improved seeds and for the fact that we do not have the farm capacity to produce the required quantity, the issue of out-growers came in, we gave them seeds from a recommended agricultural research institutes.

“Together with representative of the federal ministry of agriculture, we supervised the plantation, up to the harvesting period and each seed company has a tag attached to its seeds.

“Similarly, for every seed bag there must be a tag from the National Agric Seed Council which gives the variety of the seed, the germination percentage, purity percentage and the date when that test was done. The seed company must put its own company tag, and when you want to package, you will tell the certification officer that you want to package in a particular Kg and he will come with his own certification tag.

“I really don’t think there would be any seed company that would want to soil its name by supplying adulterated seeds.”