Japan has stepped up its support for Nigeria’s food security drive with a $3.5 million grant aimed at improving the country’s ability to produce quality rice seeds.

 

The funding, channelled through the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) in Badeggi, Niger State, is expected to strengthen the production of breeder and foundation seeds — a critical stage in ensuring farmers have access to reliable planting materials.

 

The intervention goes beyond financial support, with the project providing modern agricultural equipment and technical assistance to improve the institute’s capacity. The equipment includes tractors, rice transplanters, harvesters, germination testers and weather monitoring systems.

 

For Nigeria, where rice remains one of the country’s most consumed staples, the development could have wider implications for domestic production. Better-quality seeds can help farmers achieve improved yields, while stronger seed production capacity could reduce some of the bottlenecks affecting the rice value chain.

 

The Japanese-backed project is therefore being positioned as an investment in the foundation of Nigeria’s rice industry, with its impact expected to extend beyond Badeggi to farmers and seed producers who depend on improved planting materials.