Take agribusiness serious, IITA, NASC, ACU task students, Nigerians
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) and Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo Town, have urged students and other Nigerians to take agricultural business seriously.
They gave the charge at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the seeds business at the university.
In his presentation, Dr. Wende Mesengha of IITA said: “Quality is very important and essential in the seed business. We produce quality seeds in IITA. It is good and a lucrative business for you in the future. I want you to have an interest in this business. Think about this.
Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Timothy Adebayo, who is Chief Executive Officer of ACU Seeds Limited, urged students and Nigerians to embrace farming.
Adebayo, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) of the university, Prof. Muyiwa Popoola, said: “This is the vision that birthed ACU Seeds Limited, which privileges productive farming for self-sufficiency.”
“Agriculture and its business are matters of high priority to this great university. This is because just as agriculture is a mainstay of the nation’s economy, it is also a major sector that ensures life’s sustenance. The importance of food to human life and living cannot be over-emphasized, and many plants, which give us food, grow through their seeds. That is why we need to pay particular attention to the production of foods in good quality and in the right quantity.”
Also, Dr Philip Ojo of the NASC lamented the activities of unscrupulous seed dealers who sell fake and adulterated seeds by faking packages from reputable seed companies, fake NASC certificate tags and so on.
The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, ACU, Prof. W. B. Akanbi, who spoke earlier, lauded the warm support the university received from IITA and NASC.
