Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development Heineken Lokpobiri has said Nigeria’s $22 billion food import bill is no longer sustainable.
He spoke yesterday during an inspection of the National Agriculture Seed Council (NASC) in Sheda, Abuja. He said the NASC had a vital role to play for the Federal Government to realise its Green Alternative Agriculture Development Roadmap.
The minister said it was imperative for the Federal Government to empower, strengthen and further equip the seed council in order to develop high quality seeds for farmers to realise the food security programme of the government.
He said NASC was already leading seed agency in the entire West African region and has contributed immensely to supporting West African nations such as Cameroon, Zambia among others.
According to him, Nigeria provides about 70 per cent of seeds used in the sub-region.
