Nigeria and digitalisation of food production The Punch
Published 13 May 2021
During a stakeholders’ dialogue on Nigeria’s food system and food policy, organised by the ecological think tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, last week in Abuja, many of us came face to face with the sobering reality that our dear country lags behind in what could be described as the global balance of food power. Considering that we are one of the most populated countries in the developing world, with a massive agro-based informal sector, this is not supposed to be so.
Not only are new digital technologies changing the face of agro-production, the monolithic information and communication technologies companies are also taking over food production and distribution from the hands of the small holder farmers. As you read this, the West’s big tech companies, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft are already amassing a large chunk of the portfolio of the world’s food s
Ugo Aliogo
The Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Philip Ojo, has stated that the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill will provide intellectual property protection to breeders and improve food security in Nigeria.
Ojo, disclosed this during a virtual meeting organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with the theme: âExpert review of the Plant Variety Protection Bill: Significance and Constraints.â
He said the NASC and other stakeholders have helped facilitate the PVP bill which is currently awaiting Presidential assent.
Ugo Aliogo
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has lauded the Senate for passing the Plant Variety protection Bill (PVP) into law on the March 3.
A statement by the NESG said the PVP Bill (HB 68) was read for the third time and passed into law by the Senate after several months of deliberations.
The Plant Variety Protection Bill was read for the first time in the Senate on February 16, and is in concurrence with passage of the Bill by the House of Representatives on the December 17.
The statement further explained that through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), together with AGRA, the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, the NESG has been collaborating with the Nigeria Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) to support the enactment of legislation that would “provide a plant variety protection system that will incentivise national and multinational agribusiness investments and aid the development of Nigeri
Nigeria to generate $2bn in five years through plant variety protection law ― NESG Nigeria to generate $2bn in five years through plant variety protection law ― NESG
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The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has said that Nigeria would be earning $2 billion through the implementation of the plant variety protection law.
NESG also applauded the Nigerian senate for passing the Plant Variety protection Bill (PVP) into law on the 3rd of March 2021.
The PVP Bill (HB 68) was read for the third time and passed into law by the Senate after several months of deliberations.
It will be recalled that the Plant Variety Protection Bill was read for the First time in the Senate on February 16, 2021and is in concurrence with the passage of the Bill by the House of Representatives on December 17, 2020.
Agribusiness: NASC withdraws, delists 103 seed entrepreneurs in 2020
On
Expresses high hope over passage of Plant Variety Protection Bill
By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja
The National Agricultural Seeds Council, NASC, Friday, disclosed that 103 seed companies had their operational licenses withdrawn and were delisted due to over activities contrary to quality and standard.
This was made known by the Director-General, NASC, Dr Philip Ojo, in an address at a media briefing held at NASC’s headquarters in Sheda, Kwali Area Council, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on activities carried out by the Council in 2020 and proposed activities projected for 2021.
According to Ojo the delisted companies had issues of recertification and it is also to further strengthen the seed industry and ensure that only serious-minded entrepreneurs with genuine seed industry vision and farmers’ interest have the mandate of the council.