Economy

Nigerian Firm Tops Seeds Index Ranking

Published

6 years ago

18/04/2019

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.

Economy

Trump’s Tariffs: US Faults Nigeria’s Import Ban on Beef, Poultry, Juice, Others

Published

7 hours ago

08/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The United States has lamented Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different products, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods, as it rationalised the recent decision to slap a 14 per cent retaliatory tariff.

The United States Trade Representative, in a statement on Monday posted on its X platform, said Nigeria’s restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit US market access and reduce export opportunities.

“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for US businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market,” it wrote.

Last week, the administration of President Donald Trump imposed various tariffs ranging between 10 per cent and 65 per cent on different countries across the world, including Nigeria which got a 14 per cent tariff on its exports to the US.

In response, the Nigerian Minister of Trade, Industry, and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole, said Nigeria would take a pragmatic approach and will boost non-oil exports to deal with the drawbacks from the US move.

She also said Nigeria will be willing to negotiate and will be speaking with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the way forward.

On his part, the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, said that the Economic Management Team (EMT) would meet to assess the likely impact of the 14 per cent tariff on goods exported from Nigeria to the US.

He said the EMT will afterwards, make recommendations to cushion its impact on the nation’s economy.

The Minister also said the federal government will boost non-revenue as a means of cushioning the adverse effects to trade tariffs imposed on countries by President Trump.

Mr Edun also assured that while the adverse effect on Nigeria will be through an oil price plunge, the government is intensifying efforts to ramp up oil production and boost non-oil revenues.

Economy

Nigeria, Japan Launch Naira-based Venture Fund for Startups

Published

10 hours ago

08/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria and Japan have launched a strategic venture capital initiative that will channel Naira-denominated investments into high-growth startups, shielding them from currency risks while unlocking access to long-term concessional financing.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, met with officials from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to finalise the framework of the fund, which has now received formal approval from the Japanese government.

Speaking on the development, Mr Edun welcomed the development, calling it a timely response to Nigeria’s youthful demography.

He said this fund provides critical financial backing across the capital structure—from equity to debt—and is aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for inclusive economic growth, he stated.

On his part, NSIA CEO, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq confirmed that the initiative satisfies two key conditions set by the Minister: mitigating foreign exchange volatility by investing in Naira and securing first-loss or grant capital to de-risk private investment.

“With JICA’s support, this is not just a proposed solution—it’s a fully approved, ready-to-launch initiative,” Mr Umar-Sadiq said.

Adding his input, JICA Director General, Mr Takao Shimokawa announced that diplomatic agreements would be signed within weeks, with full implementation expected thereafter.

By combining international concessional financing with domestic currency stability, the fund marks a new model for venture capital in Africa, aimed squarely at empowering the next generation of Nigerian innovators.

Economy

Nigeria’s Economic Management Team to Assess Impact of Trump’s Tariffs

Published

11 hours ago

08/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, has said the country’s Economic Management Team (EMT) would meet to assess the likely impact of the 14 per cent tariff on goods exported from Nigeria to the United States.

Mr Edun made the disclosure while speaking at an event organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) on Monday.

The Trump administration recently imposed various tariffs ranging between 10 per cent and 65 per cent on different countries across the world, including Nigeria which got a 14 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States.

He said the EMT will afterwards make recommendations to cushion its impact on the nation’s economy, noting that the federal government will boost non-revenue as a means of cushioning the adverse effects to trade tariffs imposed on countries by President Trump.

Mr Edun stated that while the adverse effect on Nigeria will result in an oil price plunge, the government is intensifying efforts to ramp up oil production and boost non-oil revenues.

The Finance Minister noted that the US, which is at the centre of the tariff war had on April 2, announced that it would exempt mineral exports, including oil.

“Therefore, it’s the price effect, the oil price effect that may affect Nigeria. And it is the job and responsibility of the economic management team of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, amongst others, to look at the various scenarios that might play out.

“There’s global uncertainty at a huge level, so nobody knows exactly what will happen- the announcement that has been made. We’re not sure what will be delayed, what will be reversed, or what will be implemented.

“So, it is not an announcement that the budget is being reviewed. It’s an announcement that it is our responsibility to look at the various scenarios and options and advise government accordingly.”

Mr Edun also highlighted plans to look at budget adjustment, expenditure prioritisation as well as innovative non-debt financing strategies.

According to him, Nigeria had recorded a trade surplus in the last three years (2022-2024) with the US.

“Nigeria-US Trade has been in surplus in the last 3 years (2022-2024). Nigeria’s exports to the US were N1.8 trillion, N2.6 trillion and N5.5 trillion in 2022-2024, respectively.

“Fortunately, oil and mineral exports accounted for 92 per cent. Implying oil and minerals exports amounted to N5.08 trillion in value while non-oil was just N0.44 trillion.

“Consequently, the tariff effect on exports is negligible if we sustain our oil and minerals export volume.

“The adverse effect on Nigeria will be through oil price plunge. We are intensifying efforts to ramp up crude oil production to curtail any price effect

“We are also focusing on non-oil revenue mobilisation by FIRS and Customs, budget adjustment and prioritisation where possible, and also and innovative non-debt financing strategies,” the Minister said.