Review Quality requirement for seed production in the Nigerian seed industry
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Olisa, Ojo, Khalid, Agboola, Towolawi and Dahiru (2022).
Seed Science and Technology, 50, 1, 27-39.
https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2022.50.1.04
Review
Quality requirement for seed production in the Nigerian
seed industry
Babafemi Sunday Olisa*, Philip Olusegun Ojo, Ishiak Othman Khalid,
Adebayo Agboola, Oluwole Towolawi and Rabiu Dahiru
National Agricultural Seeds Council, Central Seed Testing Laboratory, Km 29 Abuja-Lokoja Express Road,
Sheda, FCT, Federal Capital Territory, PMB 716, Garki Abuja, Nigeria
*Author for correspondence (E-mail: zionolisa3@gmail.com)
(E-mail: dr.poojo@gmail.com; ishiakbio@gmail.com; agboolabayo@yahoo.com; lateeftowolawi@gmail.com;
dahirur@gmail.com)
(Submitted May 2021; Accepted December 2021; Published online January 2022)
Abstract
Greater attention is always being given to quantity of seeds produced rather than the inherent quality when
issues related to seed requirements are discussed. However, seed production should not be limited to production
of crops with high yielding potential, but also of high quality seeds with good economic potential that can give
good crop establishment and yields in a wide range of production environments. This requires good knowledge
of seed production and the establishment of an economically functional seed system with serviceable strategies.
This underscores the importance of seed quality assurance systems strengthened with seed law enforcement
strategies to assure production of good quality seeds of preferred varieties. This paper discusses those strategies
put in place to ensure a successful production of quality seeds in the Nigerian seed industry and how the setups
operate to achieve this objective.
Keywords: certification, field inspection, law enforcement, seed testing, standards
Introduction
Availability of high quality seeds of high-yielding varieties is essential for crop productivity
(Oyekale, 2014). There are several factors that interplay to influence full performance of
any seed lot, including: crop ecology, the seed producers’ managerial capability; initial
physiological condition and genetic properties of the seeds (Delouche, 2004; Olisa et al.,
© 2022 Olisa et al. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons
Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build
upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original
work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
27B.S. OLISA, P.O. OJO, I.O. KHALID, A. AGBOOLA, O. TOWOLAWI AND R. DAHIRU
2010). However, the mechanism of production of quality seeds involves the establishment
of a well-coordinated and effective seed quality assurance scheme. This certification
scheme in the Nigerian seed industry, comprising certification (field inspection) and
seed quality control (seed testing), was put in place in the 1970s to assure the quality of
agricultural seeds offered for sale. Consequently, the National Agricultural Seed Council
(NASC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is empowered by the
National Agricultural Seed Council Acts No 72 of 1992, later amended and published as
Seed Act No 21 of 2019 to provide seed certification and regulatory services to enhance
total national seed security (NASC, 2019).
The seed Acts or law also provides for the operations of the seed inspectorate to
effectively enforce the seed law and adherence to the minimum seed certification
standards. The certification scheme in the Nigerian seed system is compulsory for both
private and public institutions. Under this scheme, private seed companies are expected
to comply with minimum seed standards during production and marketing to ensure
production and successful delivery of good quality seeds to all end users (Rolston, 2015).
For this paper, we reviewed the seed production status with respect to quantity of seed
produced, the quality standard requirement as well as those systems put in place to ensure
a successful production of quality seed in Nigerian seed industry.
Seed quality assurance
Maintaining seed quality is important if any seed lot is to meet the expectation of end
users. The seed quality assurance programme in Nigeria establishes seed quality control
regulatory measures which include both administrative guidelines and the technical
procedures for smooth operation of the seed system and maintenance of the quality of
produced seeds. These procedures provide standards for certification and law enforcement.
The standards are stipulated for variety release, proper land selection, field inspection,
seed testing, grow-out testing, quality control at harvest, conditioning, packaging and
storage. Thus, seed quality assurance is a systematic and planned process for ensuring the
genetic, physical and physiological integrity of the seeds delivered to farmers (Larinde,
2009). With respect to decentralisation of all the activities of seed production along
the value chain in the Nigerian seed industry, seed producers concentrate their efforts
to meeting national needs by ensuring that all operations are carried out appropriately,
as recommended by the certification standards. However, despite these efforts, growers
still complain of quality problems (Odeyemi et al., 2010). This necessitates periodic
assessment of quality aspects of commercial seed lots in order to understand the cause
of the underlying problems, undertake corrective actions and prevent farmers from losing
confidence in the use of improved varieties (Olisa et al., unpublished data).
Meeting quality standards
Standards are an important aspect of quality assurance because they can be used to
assess the accuracy or quality of a product, according to nationally or internationally
agreed properties (Hampton, 1998). In general, quality standards and practices are used in
commercial seed production to maintain high levels of seed quality for seed production
contracts, certification, marketing and import (ISF, 2014; Hampton, 2015). To regulate the
28QUALITY REQUIREMENT FOR SEED PRODUCTION
seed industry, realistic and practically feasible minimum standards are prescribed for field
inspection, lot size, analytical purity, genetic purity, presence of noxious weed species,
moisture content, germination, health status, insect damage and other mechanical injury
(Hampton, 1998). Full implementation and operations of the standards are backed by
the seed law. However, absence of periodic review of these standards are parts of the
weaknesses of the Nigerian seed industry.
Similar to some other countries (Basu, 2015), certification standards in Nigeria
includes general seed certification standards and specific field and seed standards. The
general standards are stipulated for all crops under the certification programme while
specific field and seed standards are stipulated for individual crops. These two tiers of
standards are referred to as the minimum seed certification standard.
Specific field standards can be grouped into pre-harvest and post-harvest requirements.
The pre-harvest requirement includes land requirements, optimum isolation distance,
plant density, presence of crop off-types, field insect-pest infestation, tolerable loads of
disease-causing pathogens and edaphic (soil) conditions (NASC, 2009a). The post-harvest
requirement include method of harvesting, transportation, processing, packaging and
storage (NASC, 2009a; Basu, 2015). Maximum lot sizes are also required for each crop
species, and updated in line with ISTA and OECD rules and regulations (ISTA, 2010).
Specific seed standards, applicable for each seed class, include purity (physical and
genetic), presence of weed seeds, moisture content, germination potential, vigour, health
status or level of disease infection of the seed lots, and mechanical quality (the degree of
resistance to physical damage during seed conditioning) of the seed lots (NASC, 2009a).
In addition, standards are prescribed for storage insect damage and seed processing plants.
For the purpose of labelling during enforcement of the applicable law, standards for purity
(percent pure seed) and germination are customarily required for any seed lot (Basu, 2015).
Field inspection and isolation distance
The seed certification scheme in the Nigerian seed industry is compulsory. All commercial
seed production fields must be physically inspected. The primary objective of field
inspection is to guarantee genetic purity of any seed lots that will be offered for sale. This
requires verification of the source of parent materials, accurate documentation of previous
cropping histories of the proposed seed field, use of appropriate plant density, conduct of
proper rouging of off-types, assurance of disease-free fields and proper harvest timing
and prevention of physical admixing during harvest. Consequently, three classes of seed
fields are inspected: breeder, foundation and certified seed fields. Depending on demand,
the number of fields inspected for seed production varies from year to year. Accordingly,
80,324 ha of seed fields were inspected in 2014 while 30,408 ha were inspected in 2017.
The corresponding quantity of seeds produced was 178,056 mt in 2014 and 73,770 mt in
2017 (table 1).
Meeting the standards of isolation and crop hygiene during certification, at least three
official field inspections, usually before seeds are planted, or at seedling establishment,
flowering and harvesting are conducted. Isolation distance depends on whether the
crops are self- or cross-pollinated. For cross-pollinated crops such as maize, an isolation
distance ≥ 200 m is required while the proportion of off-type plants allowed in the seed
29B.S. OLISA, P.O. OJO, I.O. KHALID, A. AGBOOLA, O. TOWOLAWI AND R. DAHIRU
Table 1. Total number of seed fields that met the field standard and the quantity of seeds produced for all
commonly traded crops between 2013 and 2018.
Field inspection (Ha) Seeds produced
Year
(Mt)
Failed Passed Total
2013 527 75,126 75,653 149,844
2014 664 79,659 80,324 178,056
2015 772 48,927 49,699 123,597
2016 336 36,491 36,827 94,651
2017 467 29,941 30,408 73,770
2018 480.6 36,865.7 37,346.3 100,523.5
Average 541.1 51,168 51,709.6 123,983
Total 3,247 307,010 310,257 619,918
Adapted from NASC (2018).
field should not exceed 0.2%. For self-pollinated crops like rice, an isolation distance
≥ 3 m is required while the proportion of off-type plants allowed in the seed field should
not exceed 0.05%, and 0.01% for objectionable weed plants. Post-harvest inspection is
also conducted to ensure adherence to seed standards for maintenance of the overall seed
quality during conditioning and packaging. For cowpea, an isolation distance ≥ 5 m is
required, while the maximum proportion plants allowed is 0.10%, and 0.10% for plants
affected by seed-borne diseases. In the case of soya bean, an isolation distance ≥ 3 m is
required while 0.10% is the maximum proportion plants (NASC, 2009a). In the case of
grow-out tests, genetic purity of any seed lots should not be < 99.9% for breeder, < 99.0%
for foundation, < 98% for certified (open- and self-pollinated varieties) and < 95% for
hybrid seeds.
Seed fields or seed lots can be rejected during certification due to non-conformity to
specific field or seed standards. Any seed fields or seed lots that did not meet the standards
for the class of seed it was registered for, but conforms to the prescribed standards of the
class immediately below, may be downgraded. Such situations are only applicable when a
seed field and seed lots failed to meet the required standard for genetic purity. This is one
of the principles used to address seed security issues as a result of shortage of available
seeds in the seed industry. However, this is not applicable to production of hybrid seeds or
their parental lines (NASC, 2009a). Generally, in order to achieve the overall objective of
seed certification, seed producers are encouraged to participate in maintenance of cultivar
purity along all seed production value chains (Hampton, 1991).
Seed testing and specific seed standards
Seed testing
Seed testing is conducted to minimise the risks of field failure due to planting of low
quality seeds (Singh et al., 2014). There are thirteen NASC designated seed testing
30QUALITY REQUIREMENT FOR SEED PRODUCTION
Figure 1. Distribution for public institutions and facilities in the national seed system of Nigeria.
laboratories including the Central Seed Testing Laboratory (the only referral laboratory) in
Nigeria. These laboratories are established for the purpose of official seed quality control,
establishment of specific seed standards and to bring seed testing services close to the
farmers in remote areas (figure 1). Some private seed companies also have seed testing
laboratories for the purpose of internal seed quality control. These laboratories conduct
routine seed quality tests such as analytical purity, germination and moisture content. More
recently, the referral laboratory has been equipped to conduct other advanced tests such
as molecular diagnostic testing for genetic purity and seed pathogen identification, other
seed determination (OSD), vigour and seed health testing. Some of the universities and
institutes of agriculture also have seed testing laboratories for the purposes of academic
research.
The representative samples of all seed lots that have met the field standards are sent
to these seed testing laboratories for purity, germination and moisture content tests. In
case of any legal dispute, the reference sample is submitted to the referral Laboratory for
final testing. The tests provide information on the integrity of quality control activities
of certification agencies. This enables them to locate and remedy defects in procedures
and standards. To the enforcement unit and the farmers, the tests provide information on
the quality of seeds available in the seed trade, thereby helping them to locate possible
sources of good and poor quality seeds.
31B.S. OLISA, P.O. OJO, I.O. KHALID, A. AGBOOLA, O. TOWOLAWI AND R. DAHIRU
Analytical purity and other seed determination (OSD)
Analytical purity analysis is conducted to determine the constituents of any commercial
seed lots. These constituents include pure seeds, seeds of other crops or weeds, and inert
matter (ISTA, 2019). Customarily, failure to meet analytical purity standards results
in rejection of seed lots during the quality assurance scheme. Five year records of the
Nigerian seed industry show that 76-97% of rice seed lots submitted for certification did
not meet the analytical purity standard, resulting in rejection of these seed lots (table 2).
During this period, major contaminants observed among the commercial seed lots include
weed seeds and insect species, emphasising the importance of effective weed and insect
pest control through the quality assurance system.
A survey of the occurrence of weed species in Nigerian rice seed fields showed
that Oryza glaberrima Steud. was the most common contaminant (table 3). However,
in the recent time, there has been an increase in the occurrence of Paspalum urvillei
Table 2. Percentage of seed lots that meet the seed minimum purity standard in Nigeria for the classes of seed
lots for cereals and legumes between 2013 and 2017.
Minimum Proportion of seed lots (%)
Crop Type purity standard
(%) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Maize Hybrid 98
88 96 98 99 99 99
Open-pollinated 98
Rice 98 76 86 94 96 97 94
Sorghum 98 100 50 98 100 97 99
Wheat 98 - 50 - 83 98 100
Millet 98 100 50 - 100 91 88
Cowpea 98 100 86 100 100 77 93
Soybean 98 98 67 92 85 100 99
Groundnut 98 100 50 100 100 91 100
Adapted from NASC Annual report 2018.
Table 3. Percentage of rice (Oryza sativa) seed lots rejected due to presence of O. glaberrima seeds.
Seed lots rejected Average number of O. glaberrima seeds
Year
(%) present in 1 kg bag of rice seeds
2014 14 308
2015 6 303
2016 4 160
2017 3 225
Average 6.75 249
Adapted from Olisa et al. (2017).
32QUALITY REQUIREMENT FOR SEED PRODUCTION
Steud, Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC., Vigna gracilis (Guill. and Perr.) Hook, Echinochloa
spp., Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton), Taraxacum officinale F. H. Wigg., s.l.,
Lithospermum spp., Cuscuta spp. and Euphorbia spp. (Olisa et al., unpublished data).
Others include Luffa echinata Roxb, Sorghum halepense (L.), Echinochloa colona (L.)
Link, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn., Digitaria horizontalis Willd, D. sanguinalis (L.) Scop.,
Oryza longistaminata A. Chev. & Roehr., Cyperus rotundus L., C. esculentus L., Cynodon
dactylon (L.) Pers., Commelina benghalensis L., Panicum maximum Jacq., Pennisetum
purpureum Schumach., Emilia sonchifolia (L.) DC., Ageratum conyzoides L., Portulaca
oleraceae L., Richardia brasiliensis Gomez, Ipomoea involuncrata P. Beauv. and Mariscus
alternifolius Vahl (Okafor, 1986; Enyinnia, 1992). These weeds are classified as invasive
and noxious in Nigeria. Although sale of seed lots containing these weeds are permitted,
standards limit the number of these weed seeds present in any seed lots. If the number
present exceeds the tolerable number allowed by the standards, “stop-sale” are placed on
the seed lots by the law enforcement official.
Genetic purity
One of the major objectives of the seed certification scheme in Nigerian seed industry
is to ensure that genetic attributes of any crop varieties are maintained during seed
production. According to Rolston (2015), maintenance of proper isolation distance,
accurate documentation of previous cropping history and authentication of source of
parent materials are three basic principles used to maintain genetic purity of any seed
crops which is often done during field inspection. Generally, verification of variety purity
of any seed lots are done through field inspection, grow-out tests and laboratory analysis.
Grow-out test (GOT) is traditionally used in the Nigerian seed industry because it is cheap
(NASC, 2009b). However, this method is cumbersome and time-consuming compared
with laboratory analysis (Verma et al., 2017). Another major problem associated with
the GOT is the unavailability of crop descriptors for the released crop varieties to help
in accurate identification. Laboratory analyses include morphological, biochemical and
molecular (DNA) methods. Biochemical (protein profiling) and molecular (DNA) methods
are rapidly developing approaches in the Nigerian seed industry. For certification, seed
production contract and marketing, a minimum standard of 99% is required for breeder
and foundation while 98% is required of certified seed (NASC, 2009a).
Germination potential
Assessment of viability or germinability of commercial seed lots is an essential aspect
of seed certification. Viability is the property of the seed that enables it to germinate
under conditions favourable for germination in the absence of dormancy (Basu, 1995;
Shaban, 2013), while germination reflects the number of seedlings that can produce
normal and abnormal seedlings (ISTA, 2009). Seed lot viability is customarily evaluated
using a tetrazolium test, while a standard germination test is used to evaluate germination
capacity. However, when dormancy is suspected, a common situation for freshly-harvested
rice, grain legume and some vegetable seeds, a quick biochemical topographical viability
test, preferably tetrazolium, is required. Both standard germination and viability tests
are conducted following ISTA Rules (NASC, 2015). Determination of total viable seeds
33B.S. OLISA, P.O. OJO, I.O. KHALID, A. AGBOOLA, O. TOWOLAWI AND R. DAHIRU
and normal germination for a seed lot are integral to the Nigerian seed standards. For
example, in 2014, out of a total of 3,022 seed lots submitted for germination testing,
2,661 (88%) had a germination percentage that met the national specific seed standard
for germination (table 4). Those seed lots that met the standard were allowed to enter the
market, while those that failed were rejected. Rice seed lots with germination percentage
or total viability ≥ 80%, and maize seed lots with germination percentage or viability
≥ 90% (or ≥ 95 for hybrid maize) are eligible for the certification programme and allowed
for sale. For emergence situations occasioned by natural disaster, famine and other
factors beyond human control leading to shortage of available seeds, seed lots of lower
germination percentage or viability may be utilised for sowing. In this case, farmers are
advised to increase the seeding rate to compensate for the low germination percentage
observed in order to achieve the required uniform seedling emergence and establishment;
plant density and crop yield.
Table 4. Percentage of seed lots that met the seed minimum germination standard for commonly traded crops in
Nigeria between 2013 and 2017.
Minimum Seed lots (%)
Crop Type germination standard
(%) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Maize Hybrid 95 90 91 88 74 90 88
Open-pollinated 90
Rice 80 85 87 82 86 92 94
Sorghum 80 - 97 60 59 87 96
Wheat 80 - 98 - 100 98 100
Millet 70 73 60 - 100 26 59
Cowpea 80 - 100 31 94 77 53
Soybean 80 60 63 35 64 48 79
Groundnut 70 - 95 100 100 90 95
Sesame 80 - 98 100 97 100 100
Cotton 70 63 98 74 21 12 36
Adapted from NASC Annual report 2018.
During storage, seed physiological quality (germination, viability and vigour) can
deteriorate (Marcos-Filho, 2005). The germination result given on the seed tag or label is
valid for six month from the test date, after which it has to be revalidated for another six
month after another re-test. Carryover seed lots thus need to be retested before they can
be considered for commerce. Seed lots with germination values that conform to minimum
seed standard are relabeled and allowed to be sold.
34QUALITY REQUIREMENT FOR SEED PRODUCTION
Seed legislation and enforcement of seed standard
Seed law is an essential aspect of good quality assurance and successful seed marketing
systems. It establishes guidelines and procedures for the seed trade and ensures that seed
lots offered for sale meet the required minimum quality standards thereby safeguarding
the interest of both sellers and the buyers (Copeland and Macdonald, 1995). It also
ensures that the seed lots are properly labelled in accordance with laboratory analysis.
The Seed Law was first put in place in Nigeria in 1992 as an Act which was amended in
2019 through a legislative deliberation by government officials comprising the National
Assembly (legislative arms of the government), the seed regulatory organisation
(NASC), the national agricultural research institutions (NARIs) and representatives
from private seed companies and farmers’ groups. This is done to accommodate notable
changes that occurred as a result of deregulation of the seed industry and other emerging
developmental situations. The seed legislation in Nigeria is coordinated at the Federal
level by NASC. However, at the state and local government levels, all official seed related
activities are coordinated by the State Seed Committee. This committee consists of the
NASC official, state government officials, representatives of the private seed companies
within the state and state law enforcement organisations. For international seed trade,
an enforcement system is in place to regulate the choice of seed varieties that can be
brought into the country in order to encourage local variety development (Joshi, 2015).
Seed law enforcement officers require relevant experience, expertise and training on
seed legislation, certification, sampling, seed testing, labelling, storage management, seed
conditioning, seed packaging, record keeping and administration principles to perform
their jobs effectively (Douglass, 1981). Various activities put in place to ensure effective
enforcement of seed standards in Nigeria include sensitisation of stakeholders, seed market
surveillance and intelligent gathering, seed market raid and enforcement of seed standards,
with compliance inspection to all seed producing agencies. Seed law enforcement officers
often apply “stop-sale” to prevent the sale of falsely-labeled or questionable seed lots
until corrections are made or the seed lot is disposed of in accordance with the law.
Labels and tags are important tools; seed law customarily protects these documents and
ensures that certified seed are not sold without these documents. However, this law is
not applicable to seeds in the informal seed system of farmers’ saved seed lots, where
seeds are allowed to be exchanged among farmers’ groups in order to promote local seed
production and distribution with no commercial interest.
Enforcement of standards relies largely on implementation of seed standard. Seed
lots from the seed market are expected to meet the prescribed seed standards specified
for the crop. The use of tolerance statistical tables for seed law enforcement purposes is
a common practice when revalidating results for purity, germination and weed or foreign
seeds on the sellers’ seed tag. The need for this only occurs when the results of the tests
are below the amount claimed on the sellers’ seed tag or label. If the results are equal to
or above the sellers’ tag, the tagging will be considered satisfactory.
As part of responsibilities of law enforcement, reported cases of crop failure are
investigated to determine the underlying causes of the failure. During this investigation,
seed samples from the affected seed lots are drawn and sent for detailed scientific
analysis. If the analysis report indicates that the failure is due to low quality seeds or
35B.S. OLISA, P.O. OJO, I.O. KHALID, A. AGBOOLA, O. TOWOLAWI AND R. DAHIRU
seeds not meeting the minimum standards, this will be considered as infringement on
the seed law (NASC, 2019). Thus, NASC takes necessary measures against the supplier
as stipulated in the Seed Act. To this end, common official actions taken to enforce
compliance with regulations range from sanctioning through issuance of warning letters
to de-accreditation of affected seed companies (personal communication with the NASC
Director, Seed Inspectorate). Therefore, through law enforcement, issues related to legal
disputes as a result of sales of poor quality seeds and poor seed performance are well
mitigated (Copeland and Mcdonald, 1995). Consequently, between 2015 and 2017, a
total of 3,055 mt of commercial seed lots of maize, rice, cowpea, soybean, millet and
vegetable seeds were confiscated from seed companies due to noncompliance with the
Seed law.
Generally, records relating to source, chemical treatment for seed dressing or
seed performance enhancement, purchase, import permits, sales, cleaning, storage
and test analysis of every seed lot sold are maintained. For seed trade involving
any seed producers or organisations from Nigeria and other west-African countries,
a representative sample of each seed lot is kept by the respective organisation for
reference in case of litigation for a year.
Utilising available technology
In order to advance quality assurance and quarantine system of the seed industry, LAMP
method virus diagnostic procedure was introduced into quality assurance scheme in virus
detection for agricultural crops. In addition, seed tracker for yam and cassava seed system
and seed codex were introduced in 2019 for adequate traceability in the certification
system. Furthermore, recent introduction of micro-propagation through tissue culture,
and aeroponics system, a high ratio propagation techniques, for the production of yam
and cassava through yam vines and cassava plantlets has revolutionized yam and cassava
production in Nigeria.
Future direction of the seed industry in Nigeria
The goal of the Nigerian seed industry should be tailored toward eliminating the constraints
in meeting the various requirements for quality seed production. These constraints
include weak enforcement of different prescribed minimum seed certification standards,
minimum compliance with national seed certification procedures by the seed producer
and marketers, minimum compliance with generation plan for seed multiplication,
inappropriate processing facilities and procedures, and inappropriate storage facilities and
handling procedures. Other constraints include the use of certification tags for uncertified
seed, sale of improperly labeled seeds; growers mixing the seeds of the male parent with
that of the female parent in hybrid seed production; and weak early generation (breeder
and foundation) seed production mechanisms.
In addition, effort should be made toward developing quality assurance procedures
for underutilized crops that are yet to be included in the certification programme. This
will encourage commercialisation of such crops. The use of hybrid seeds, which are
distinctly proven to be better than open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), should be promoted.
At present, apart from maize seeds, there are no known commercial hybrid varieties of
36QUALITY REQUIREMENT FOR SEED PRODUCTION
rice, sorghum, wheat or vegetables in the Nigerian seed industry. However, recent data on
hybrid maize showed that hybrid maize seeds have inherent low storage potential and are
susceptible to mechanical damage during processing when compared with OPVs (Olisa et
al., unpublished data). Effort should be aimed at improving these attributes in the different
breeding programmes.
International test procedures for varietal identification such as molecular fingerprinting,
electrophoresis, machine vision and imaging, and chromatographic tests are not available
in Nigeria at present. Further, national support should be geared toward improving the
quality status of commercial rice and maize seeds across the production value chain as a
follow-up measure to remedy the reported compromise in genetic integrity of commercial
seed lots of rice and maize seeds in Nigeria (Olisa et al., unpublished data).
Periodic review of seed certification standards and seed production manuals should be
the priorities of the national seed quality assurance programme. Participation of private
organisations in certification programme and other activities along the seed production
value chain apart from seed multiplication should be of highest priority in the immediate
future. This third party programme will complement the national quality control activities
as well as ensure that other aspects of seed production such as conditioning, warehousing
(bulk storage) or logistics are singly handled by licensed entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
The availability of high quality seed does not just happen, but is a result efforts of seed
producers and proper implementation of standards by the government regulatory agency
in collaboration with other stakeholders. Farmers are encouraged to examine the label
on the seed bags for details of quality parameters as supplied by the official seed testing
laboratory before any purchase is concluded.
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