To increase productivity of Nigerian farmers, the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has invested about $30 million in good quality seeds in Nigeria.
The Country Representative of AGRA, Kehinde Makinde, disclosed this in Abuja during an exploratory meeting on the sustainable Foundation Seed Supply in Nigeria, organised by AGRA, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United State Aid for International Development (USAID).
The country representative said under the new strategy, AGRA was investing $30 million over a five-year period of 2017-2021 to support value chain actors, the government and the private sector partners in the process of agricultural transformation.
Disclosing that since inception, AGRA had provided $50 million in the entire value chain, he said it was critical to ensure farmers improve their productivity level through increased access to new technologies, among which was access to quality seeds.
He stressed that to improve productivity of Nigerian farmers, AGRA had been working with seed companies to ensure quality seeds move from the breeders to seed companies and ensure that farmers have access to them.
The Head of Seed Systems of AGRA, George Bigirwa, noted that the aim of the meeting was to ensure the sustainable seed production in the country.
http://www.agricinfo.com/2018/12/agra-invests-30m-to-boost-quality-seeds.html