Economy
It’s Illegal to Sell Seeds, Planting Materials without Seedcodex Tag by NASC—Bankole
By Dipo Olowookere
Those who sell seeds or planting materials to farmers without a Seedcodex authentication tag risk being punished for violating the law if they do not desist from such an act.
According to the chief agricultural officer at the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Mr Osho Bankole, it is an offence not to subject seeds to a quality assurance process in Nigeria.
The Seedcodex label is a mark of quality assurance technology designed to eliminate adulterated seeds from the market in order to make farmers have productive yields.
The system is backed by law through the National Agricultural Seeds Act No 21 of 2019.
Speaking on April 26, 2022, at a webinar themed The Seedcodex: Improved Seed Quality Assurance Providing Farmers Value for Money, Mr Bankole admitted that though the initiative has a few challenges, its implementation has improved food production of the nation as farmers have quality seeds to plant.
“All seeds, after meeting the certification standards, must have a Seedcodex tag before it is traded in the market,” the expert said during his keynote presentation titled Implementation of Seedcodex in Nigeria: Current Status and Ambitions.
He further said, “It is an offence punishable by law as contained in the National Agricultural Seeds Act No 21 of 2019 to market seeds/planting materials without the affixation of the Seedcodex tag issued by NASC after going through the prescribed quality assurance processes.”
Corroborating his point, the country manager for Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Dr Kehinde Makinde, who was represented by the programme officer for AGRA Nigeria, Dr Esther Ibrahim, emphasised that a viable seed system is required to increase the productivity of farmers.
She noted that there is a need for strategic collaboration to ensure compliance as the Seedcodex technology is a quality assurance tool capable of ridding the market of adulterated seeds.
While describing his on-field experience of using Seedcodex, the managing director of Premier Seeds, Mr Ibitoye Oyewale, described the technology as an instant evidence-based instrument.
“Once the farmers scratch off the code and send it to 1393, the authenticity of the seeds purchased is confirmed. The technology gives the farmers assurance and enhances the credibility of the seeds which discourages counterfeiting of seeds,” he stated.
Business Post gathered that the event, which was anchored by a food security expert, Mr Ekum Ojogu, was attended by several stakeholders in the industry, including the director-general of NASC, Dr Philip Ojo; the senior seed advisor at Wageningen University and Research, Dr Marja Thijssen; the seed inspector at Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS), Mrs Caroline Kavu; and the Market Lead Strategist at mPedigree Limited Kenya, Mr Timothy Maina, amongst others.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.16 per cent on Thursday, April 29, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) returning above the 4,000-point mark after chalking up 6.55 points to settle at 4,005.78 points compared with the previous day’s 3,999.23 points.
During the trading session, the market capitalisation of the platform went up by N3.92 billion to close at N2.396 trillion, in contrast to the N2.392 trillion it ended on Wednesday.
The upliftment of the alternative stock market was influenced by the gains posted by four securities, which offset the losses printed by two securities.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc chalked up N4.03 to close at N76.02 per share versus the preceding session’s N71.99 per share, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 24 Kobo to N2.67 per unit from N2.43 per unit, UBN Property Plc climbed 20 Kobo to trade at N2.23 per share versus N2.03 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 9 Kobo to N3.00 per unit from N2.91 per unit.
On the flip side, MRS Oil Plc lost N17.65 to end at N178.10 per share compared with the previous price of N195.75 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dipped by N9.76 to N90.24 per unit from N100.00 per unit.
The volume of securities traded during the trading day went up by 184.3 per cent to 877,682 units from 308,698 units, the value of securities jumped 5.7 per cent to N26.7 million from N25.2 million, and the number of deals soared by 100 per cent to 56 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.1 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
The market will be closed on Friday, May 1, for Workers’ Day celebration.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 3, further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N4.52 or 0.33 per cent to N1,374.94/$1 from N1,379.46/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency gained against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.34 during the session to close at N1,858.24/£1 compared to the previous rate of N1,861.58/£1, and against the Euro, it improved by N5.29 to sell at N1,607.58/€1 versus N1,612.87/€1.
At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira gained N4 against the Dollar to settle at N1,384/$1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,389/$1, and at the parallel market, it improved by N5 to trade at N1,385/$1 compared with the N1,390/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.
Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a buffer to support the Naira, continued their downward trend, declining to $48.36 billion as of April 29, 2026, according to data.
Market activity weakened sharply, with the NAFEM recording zero deals on Thursday, down from 393 deals on Wednesday. Total turnover in the official window also dropped from $802.44 million to zero, underscoring a severe liquidity squeeze.
Thursday’s price formation was driven entirely by the interbank segment, where turnover also fell significantly to $58.03 million from $249.91 million, suggesting that liquidity pressures extended across the broader FX market.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were up amid looming US inflation data, while high oil prices and rising bond yields weigh on risk assets.
The appreciation faces headwinds in the form of US March PCE inflation, which lands as oil prices keep pressure on risk assets, as well as reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has kept energy markets fragile.
Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.8 per cent to trade at $0.1082, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated to $76,987.59, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.2 per cent to $2,276.11, Cardano (ADA) added 1.1 per cent to close at $0.2484, and Solana (SOL) soared by 1.1 per cent to $83.89.
Further, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3224, Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.4 per cent to $1.37, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.2 per cent to $616.67, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A further 2.14 per cent leap was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, the last trading session of April 2026.
This was supported by strong buying pressure despite selling pressure in the consumer goods and insurance sectors, which lost 0.14 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively.
It was observed that the energy index went up by 4.78 per cent, the industrial goods space appreciated by 4.13 per cent, and the banking segment rose by 0.52 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 5,072.22 points to settle at 242,277.81 points versus the 237,205.59 points on Wednesday, and the market capitalisation jumped N3.266 trillion to N155.994 trillion from N152.728 trillion.
FTN Cocoa, BUA Cement, CAP, UAC Nigeria, and Zichis soared by 10.00 per cent each to quote at N5.50, N418.00, N145.20, N181.50, and N21.78, respectively.
On the flip side, Aluminium Extrusion lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N9.50, Royal Exchange declined by 9.93 per cent to N1.36, Legend Internet slipped by 9.32 per cent to N5.35, Austin Laz dropped 9.12 per cent to N3.39, and Neimeth went down by 7.26 per cent to N8.30.
Business Post reports that there were 46 price gainers and 41 price losers on Customs Street during the session, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
A total of 1.9 billion shares valued at N104.3 billion were traded in 92,353 deals yesterday compared with the 1.3 billion shares worth N69.1 billion transacted in 83,445 deals at midweek, indicating a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.15 per cent, 50.94 per cent, and 10.68 per cent, respectively.
At the close of business, Access Holdings led the activity chart with 935.0 million units sold for N24.3 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 90.2 million units valued at N175.2 million, UBA exchanged 89.0 million units worth N3.9 billion, Wema Bank transacted 68.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, and GTCO sold 54.7 million units valued at N7.4 billion.
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