The National Agricultural Seed Advocacy Group (NASAG) said that the effective implementation of the plant Variety Bill (PVB) to boost research and development in the agribusiness sector.
The agency stated that the law will allow farmers to have access to a variety of improved plant varieties derived from the breeding programs to be protected under the law. This agency stated this at a virtual meeting held in collaboration with the Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative.
During the meeting, the national coordinator of NASAG stated that lack of a law to protect breeders’ rights in Nigeria, plant breeders both private and public sectors have shown a lack of commitment towards investing in plant breeding as there is no assurance that their rights will be recognized and respected.
The group stated in a statement that the ability of the country’s agricultural system to sustainably support innovations in the seed sector was not within acceptable bounds, said that to escape looming food security, there is a need to quickly open a research and development in the seed sector for enhanced agricultural productivity in the country.
The national coordinator, Okeke stated that plant breeders have invested large resources towards the development of plant varieties that have been duplicated for commercial purposes without their consent, thus leaving the main breeders with little or no value for their research breakthroughs.
Okeke also stated that the seed sector is the backbone of the agricultural sector, emphasizing that the agricultural sector cannot exist without continuous research and development in the seed sector. Without the R&D in the sector, the agricultural sector will not be able to support our food security aspirations.
“Nigeria has not met the investment target of one percent of GDP set by the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) for the agricultural sector as a whole, let alone the seed sector.
“Nigeria presently has such low and declining levels of investment in Agricultural R&D that the effectiveness of our national agricultural R&D in meeting our food security needs is questionable. This is particularly true for the seed sector,” he said.
The group noted that there was rising concern about the ability of African agricultural research and development (R&D) systems to respond to the emerging and current development challenges.
They stated why it is important for the government to assent the bill saying “Granting plant breeders’ Intellectual property Right over their planting materials will influence them towards better investment into plant breeding and help enhance the development of the seed sector.
“It will provide a wider pool of genetic resources for our breeders to draw from in their course of variety development,” the group added.
