Economy
Nigerian Firm Tops Seeds Index Ranking
A company based in Nigeria known as Value Seeds Limited has topped the rankings in new research on seed companies operating in Western and Central Africa.
However, the overall picture is one of international and African seed companies falling short in delivering quality seed and new varieties to smallholder farmers.
This limits the potential to address food security, nutrition and climate resilience, according to a new study by the Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation.
While there is a growing number of seed companies active in the region, both home grown and international, less than half of the 23 companies researched conduct plant breeding in Western and Central Africa. This limits the release of new varieties adapted to the region, and explains the high number of varieties that are older than five years offered in company portfolios.
The Access to Seeds Index 2019 – Western and Central Africa ranks Value Seeds number one. Like most of the other companies from the region, it operates exclusively in its home country of Nigeria. It stands out for its maize and rice ‘value kits’, all-in-one input packages tailored for smallholders.
Also, it provides capacity building activities that specifically target women and next-generation farmers. Other Nigerian companies also dominate the top half, such as Maslaha Seeds, Premier Seed, and Da-Allgreen Seeds, showing the relative strength of the seed industry from Nigeria.
Ranked second is Technisem from France, which has the widest presence in the region, covering 17 countries and offering training in 13 of them. The company sets an example by establishing Novalliance, which taps into local potential of homegrown African seed companies. Among the top-ten index companies that belong to this group are Tropicasem from Senegal, Semagri from Cameroon, and Nankosem from Burkina Faso. Their combined breeding efforts result in the most up-to-date portfolio in the region, with a high number of newly released varieties.
“What both Value Seeds and Technisem represent is the importance of partnerships to improve access to seeds in the region,” said Ido Verhagen, Executive Director at Access to Seeds Index. “In the case of Value Seeds, its partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) paid off, as its grant-based support enabled the company to improve its products and intensify its outreach to smallholder famers.”
For the most part, open-pollinated varieties still dominate across the region, in contrast with Eastern Africa and South Asia. The exception is maize, for which hybrid varieties are more commonly available. In addition, research shows that for almost half (48%) of the crops, the most recent variety is older than five years, with only a fifth (21%) having a variety less than three years. The lack of newly developed varieties seriously impacts the resilience to a changing climate and emerging disease and pests, which reduces yields.
Compared to a dozen of companies active in Nigeria and Senegal, only one company is active in each of Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
“Our study shows the potential of homegrown seed companies. However, most operate only in their home markets, which causes geographic imbalances in seed sector development,” said Mr Verhagen.
“This also means that capacity building activities offered by companies only reach farmers in a handful of countries. This limits the adoption of new technologies by farmers in overlooked countries”, he added.
“The relevance of access to seeds and plant breeding should not be underestimated,” said Verhagen. “The number of undernourished people in the world reached an estimated 821 million in 2017 – it’s rising. Climate change and weather extremes have been identified as a major reason for the increase. The seed industry has a vital role to play in helping farmers to adapt to climatic challenges while simultaneously raising production levels.”
According to the FAO, the number of undernourished people has been on the rise in Western Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole in recent years. Western Africa has seen undernourishment rise to 15.1% of the population in 2017 from 10.4% in 2010.
The Access to Seeds Index 2019 is one of the first Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) benchmarks published by the World Benchmarking Alliance.
The alliance was launched in September 2018 during the UN General Assembly in New York. The Access to Seeds Index was established with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of the Netherlands.
The Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa focuses on 23 leading seed companies in this region. This was preceded by rankings of the industry in both Eastern and Southern Africa and South and Southeast Asia, along with a ranking of Global Seed Companies.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday signed the 2026 appropriation bill of N4.45 trillion into law.
At the signing ceremony in Alausa, Ikeja in the presence of his deputy, Mr Femi Hamzat, the Governor thanked the Lagos State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, for passing the 2026 budget christened Budget of Shared Prosperity.
He said though the appropriation bill was increased from N4.2 trillion to N4.45 trillion, this only showed the independence of the parliament, promising that the executive arm of government will accountably implement the bill.
“On behalf of the people and the government of Lagos State, let me thank the House of Assembly. This is a budget that you have had your full input into, you have scrutinized, you have dissected, and you have taken your time to do the very constitutional provision, which is enshrined in our constitution. I want to thank you for the work you have done.
“You will notice that there is a slight increase from what we put forward, but that goes to show that the independence that you have, and the fact that you believe that Lagosians actually also deserve more, and the fact that you believe that we also can do more. So we’re excited and we’re happy with the way that you have brought it forward here to us.
“For us in the executive, it is another opportunity for us to be able to work together. It is a budget of shared prosperity that has been properly christened, and sharing prosperity means that it’s an inclusive government, it’s a budget that must carry everybody along irrespective of what part of the state, what division in the state, what sector you are from you must feel governance, you must feel the essence of why we’re in government in one form or the other,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said.
The Speaker, represented by the Majority leader of the Lagos Assembly, Mr Noheem Adams, praised the Governor for his people-oriented policies.
Business Post recalls that on November 25, 2025, Mr Sanwo-Olu presented a proposed to spend N4.237 trillion this year, higher than the N3.366 trillion approved for 2025.
But the lawmakers increased the budget to N4.445 trillion and passed it on January 8, 2026, and transmitted to the Governor for assent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s non-oil exports for the year 2025 stood at $6.1 billion.
According to the NEPC Executive Director, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, on Monday, the figure showed a growth of 11.5 per cent compared to the $5.4 billion recorded in December 2024.
Mrs Ayeni noted that while the top three export destinations for the year were the Netherlands, Brazil, and India, a total of 1.23 million metric tonnes of goods were exported to 11 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, with Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin topping the list.
However, she explained that the exit of Burkina Faso, Mail and Niger led to a decline of trade within the ECOWAS sub-region, as well as Africa.
The three countries under military juntas have moved to restrict trade with their fellow West Africans.
A further breakdown of the 2025 report of the non-oil sector showed that 281 products, which include agricultural commodities, processed and semi-processed goods, were exported.
Top products on the list of non-oil export include cocoa, sesame seeds, urea, soya beans, and rubber, amongst others.
Nigeria has moved in recent times to boost its non-oil exports to reduce vulnerability to external shocks and price volatility associated with commodities like oil.
Despite Nigeria’s heavy dependence on oil revenues, it continues to expose the country to sudden fiscal pressures whenever global prices fall, often constraining public spending and slowing growth.
The latest NEPC data shows that by expanding exports in agriculture, manufacturing, services, and creative industries, Nigeria can build a more balanced economic structure that is better able to absorb global disruptions while sustaining steady income flows.
Market analysts have noted that strengthening non-oil exports can help Nigeria’s long-term competitiveness and foreign exchange (FX) earnings. It could also further improve the country’s trade balance, support currency stability, and attract investment by signalling economic resilience and policy credibility.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The economic growth outlook of Nigeria for 2026 has been upgraded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to 4.4 per cent from the 4.2 per cent earlier projected in October 2025.
This comes a few days after the World Bank Group raised the country’s growth forecast to 4.4 per cent this year from the 3.7 per cent earlier predicted in June 2025.
In its January 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update titled Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces, the IMF explained that it was lifting the growth projection for Nigeria due to improved macroeconomic conditions and reform momentum.
However, it cautioned that “escalating geopolitical tensions” in the Middle East and Ukraine could negatively impact “the [positive] outlook.”
The organisation stressed that renewed trade tensions and protectionist measures, which could heighten global uncertainty and high public debt and fiscal deficits could exert upward pressure on long-term interest rates.
The IMF also identified energy prices as a critical factor shaping the 2026 outlook, projecting that energy commodity prices are expected to decline by about 7 per cent in 2026 largely due to weak global demand.
It charged the Nigerian government to focus on rebuilding fiscal buffers, and structural reforms without delay to maintain economic stability.
The Fund also stressed that central bank independence remains critical for macroeconomic stability, especially amid heightened global volatility.
It said the ability of the country to meet its 2026 growth target would depend on the consistent implementation of reforms and its capacity to withstand domestic and external shocks as the global economy continues to adjust.
As for the global economy, the IMF noted that it anticipates a 3.3 per cent growth in 2026, reflecting a balancing of divergent forces.
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