Determined to boost local varieties of tomatoes and pepper seed production and reduce reliance on imports, a Kano-based agribusiness firm has unveiled vegetable seeds processing facility.
The firm, the Seed Project Company Limited, now rebranded as SeedPro Africa, also announced plans to introduce six new tomato and pepper varieties into the segment market.
The Chief Executive Officer of SeedPro Africa, Dr Zainab Gwadabe, disclosed this on Saturday during the company’s 20th anniversary celebration in Kano, where it also launched a home gardening kit aimed at supporting household food production.
Gwadabe said the facility, described by the company as the first of its kind in Nigeria, would support the processing and packaging of locally produced vegetable seeds, while helping farmers cope with the effects of foreign exchange volatility on agricultural inputs.
She explained that the company was set to roll out six seed varieties comprising four tomato types and two pepper types developed to address climate and nutrition challenges.
“Out of the six varieties, four are tomatoes, and two are pepper.
“Two of the tomato varieties are heat-tolerant and can be produced during the wet season, while the other two are bio-fortified with beta carotene. The pepper varieties are also heat-tolerant,” she said.
According to Gwadabe, SeedPro Africa plans to expand its product portfolio before the end of the year by introducing additional varieties as part of efforts to cut seed importation and shield farmers from dollar fluctuations.
Reflecting on the firm’s growth over the past two decades, she said the company was among the pioneers of the seed business in Kano State and one of the first five registered seed companies in Nigeria.
“Today, Nigeria has over 600 registered seed companies, and we are proud to be among the first five with 20 years of experience,” she added.
Also speaking at the event, the Senior Portfolio Officer of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Mr Michael Adibe, said AECF was partnering with SeedPro Africa under its Investing in Women Nigeria project, in collaboration with the Kano State Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce.
Adibe said AECF currently supports seven small and medium-scale agribusinesses in Kano State across value chains such as groundnut, vegetables, seeds, and dairy, with more enterprises and women-led cooperatives expected to come on board.
“SeedPro Africa has been our partner since 2024. We funded seed multiplication and seed processing, and the processing machines and greenhouse launched today were sponsored by AECF,” he said.
He pointed out that the company works with about 5,000 farmers engaged in seed multiplication, providing them with farm tools, fertilisers, inputs, and technical training, particularly for women farmers.
Adibe further noted that the partnership would run from December 2024 to November 2027, with a target of reaching 5,000 women farmers and producing up to 10 metric tonnes of seeds annually through the greenhouse and processing facility.
“Our goal is to economically empower women farmers so that each can earn between $500 and $1,000 in net benefits annually,” he disclosed, while expressing confidence that the targets were achievable as project assets had already become operational.
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