From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Farmers drawn from various local government areas of Kaduna state on Thursday gave testimonies about the double yielding capacity of maize variety seeds produced and supplied to them by SEED-CO Nigeria, a subsidiary of The African Seed Company.
Hundreds of farmers were invited to witness the grand finale of
“Harvest Brown Field Day Celebration”, for the 2022/2023 harvest seasons organised by the company.
The day was meant to showcase the full yield of both the commercial and pipeline hybrid maize varieties before the farmers.
According to the Managing Director of SEED-CO, Kaduna, Mr Kolade Dada said, “this year at our harvest brown field day, as we look forward to product basket portfolio expansion, our emphasis is on our
improved climate-smart crop varieties and disease-tolerant crop varieties
“We are diversifying our products, which include commercial crops such as soybean, rice, wheat, sorghum, and vegetables.
“We are leveraging technology and investing in cold room storage facilities for effective seed storage, and multiple crop experiments in our R&D portfolio allow us to innovate.”
A farmer, Mai Ungwan Ado spoke about maize variety seed from SEED-CO, saying, “I want to appreciate and testify about SEED-CO. I was going around to buy seeds and stumbled on SEED-CO. I collected the seed and planted them in July. I got four bags on a piece of land from two bags. Within two months the harvest is ready. I got free seeds. Because if you are planting on one or two plots the seed will be given to you for free. I will continue to patronise SEED-CO. I introduced my community people to SEED-CO because they will direct you on how to go about your farming through the right agronomists.”
Also testifying, Shamsudeen Bello said, I came across this company late last year. We have tried many seeds along the way, but SEED-CO is our last bus stop because the seed is the best. We are now cultivating close to 70 hectares”.
For Hajiya Binta, “I used to harvest 13 bags, but when I started planting SEED-CO seeds, I harvested 25 bags. I am most grateful to them.”
However, fielding questions from Journalists shortly after the programme, Mr Dada said one of the purposes of the event was to appeal to farmers and educate them that bumper harvest is possible, using the right seed and partnering with the right agronomists.
He however expressed worry over challenges like insecurity and difficult terrain which in most cases hampered their movements in rural areas in the country to deliver quality seed varieties to rural farmers.
He said, “It is a journey that has taken us to 17 states because we committed to the welfare of the farmers so that they can know that their productivity and livelihood can be better.
“So today’s event is to encourage farmers that bumper harvest is possible by using the right seed. And if Nigerian farmers are better, Nigeria as a whole will be better.”