The National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) says it will serve as a catalyst for Nigeria’s food security revolution by ensuring the affordability and accessibility of seeds to farmers.

Fatuhu Buhari, the council’s newly appointed director-general, stated this at the handing over by Ishiak Khalid, the outgoing acting DG, on Friday in Abuja.

He said agriculture stood at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.

“President Bola Tinubu’s vision for food security, economic diversification, and sustainable development is clear: Nigeria must feed itself and unlock the full potential of its agribusiness sector.

” The council is pivotal to this mission. Seeds are the first link in the agricultural value chain – the tiny but mighty catalysts of abundance.

” Without quality seeds, there can be no thriving farms; without thriving farms, there can be no food security,” he said.

Mr Buhari said that under his leadership, the council would serve as a catalyst for Nigeria’s food security revolution.

“It will strengthen regulatory frameworks to ensure farmers access only high-yielding, disease-resistant seeds,” he said.

Mr Buhari said the council would partner with research institutions and agri-tech pioneers to develop climate-smart seed varieties.

He said the council would be expanding seed multiplication programmes and ensuring affordability and accessibility.

Mr Buhari said the council would also engage seed companies, development agencies, and investors to scale up production and distribution.

He called for the support of farmers, researchers and seed companies, as well as development partners, to amplify the council’s efforts.

Mr Buhari thanked the board, management and staff of the council for their tireless efforts in advancing Nigeria’s seed sector.

The outgoing DG of NASC, Mr Khalid, said the council’s mission is to make high-quality, traceable planting materials available, affordable and accessible to all farmers,” he said.

Mr Khalid said that the Revised National Agricultural Seed Policy introduced strategic innovations such as the SEEDCODEX system and genotyping for variety adoption monitoring.

He said these efforts aimed to address counterfeit seeds, enhance transparency, and boost farmer confidence.

” There is an urgent call for investment in modern infrastructure such as evaluation fields, seed banks, and greenhouses to build resilience against climate shocks,” he said.

(NAN)