{"id":13105,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:24","slug":"agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\/","title":{"rendered":"AGRA-funded project builds capacities of seed specialists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pic.-of-Soybean.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9957\" src=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pic.-of-Soybean.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of soybeans\" width=\"250\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a>Participants from across Nigeria were trained on improved production techniques for maize  and soybean seeds,  and cassava planting materials in a 3-day workshop. The training provided up-to-date knowledge  and enhanced skills on the production  and marketing of quality seeds  and planting materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Resource persons included Dr Baffour Asafo-Adjei, consultant with the IITA-AGRA foundation seeds project; IITA scientists in maize  and cassava programs, IITA economist, Mr Joshua Femi Olonilua, NASC director for quality control;  and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Asafo-Adjei noted that \u201cseed production is a serious business which needs proper planning to make good quality seeds available to farmers at affordable prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participants learned about the best environments in Nigeria for producing good quality seeds of maize  and soybean  and planting materials for cassava. They also learned about best practices for producing open-pollinated  and hybrid maize seeds, soybean seeds,  and cassava stem cuttings; innovative marketing strategies that satisfy the customers\u2019 need for quality seeds  and how to make reasonable profit;  and procedures involved in seeds\/planting materials certification in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Olonilua, the NASC must ensure that seeds meet all the set quality  and purity st andards based on field inspections carried out before planting, at flowering,  and at harvest. This is followed by physical quality tests  and a purity test that are conducted after seeds have been processed. This include laboratory test for moisture content, seed purity, germination percentage,  and absence of pests  and diseases, he explained.<br>Participants were also taken through practical training in pollination techniques in maize, how to identify off-types in seed fields, uses of global positioning systems (GPS) equipment in agriculture especially in surveys  and mapping,  and the rapid multiplication of cassava stem cuttings. The workshop also provided a platform for the participants to share knowledge  and experiences in the seed industry. Nine people from local seed companies,  and seven Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members from the IITA youth entrepreneurship program participated in the workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\">www.iita.org<\/a>)<br>Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture  and people&#8217;s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger  and poverty. Our award-winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa  and beyond to reduce producer  and consumer risks, enhance crop quality  and productivity,  and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees,  and supported primarily by CGIAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>About CGIAR <\/strong>(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cgiar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.cgiar.org<\/a>)<br>CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>For more information, contact Andrea Gros at <a>a.gros@cgiar.org<\/a> or Godwin Atser at <a>g.atser@cgiar.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers from IITA and the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) have trained seed production specialists\/managers and technicians of private seed companies on how to produce and market seeds of improved crop varieties as part of efforts to boost farmers\u2019 yields through availability and use of quality seeds. Supported by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the training aims to develop the critical human resource that will catalyze the production of improved seeds, and at the same time make the seeds available and affordable to farmers&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[32],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[191],"class_list":["post-13105","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","hentry","location-nigeria","item-year-191"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AGRA-funded project builds capacities of seed specialists - IITA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AGRA-funded project builds capacities of seed specialists - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers from IITA and the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) have trained seed production specialists\/managers and technicians of private seed companies on how to produce and market seeds of improved crop varieties as part of efforts to boost farmers\u2019 yields through availability and use of quality seeds. Supported by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the training aims to develop the critical human resource that will catalyze the production of improved seeds, and at the same time make the seeds available and affordable to farmers...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IITA_CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/agra-funded-project-builds-capacities-of-seed-specialists\\\/\",\"name\":\"AGRA-funded project builds capacities of seed specialists - 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