Our Profile

NSSAN was incorporated in Abuja Nigeria with corporate affairs commission as regulatory body to oversee the activities of all the players in sesame seed value chains in Nigeria. Our operational headquarters is situated at Plot 626, Ugwu James Onoja.Wuye, Abuja. Our management team consists of credible and excellent personnels with vibrant records of performance.

Objectives:
a) To enhance efficiency and effectiveness in all businesses of sesame seed commodity in order to create wealth and generate employment opportunities.
b) To influence National economic policies towards enabling environment for production, processing and export of sesame seed commodity.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
With international demand for agricultural commodities having increased in the recent years NSSAN introduced programs aimed at helping small, medium and large scales farmers/entrepreneurs in Nigeria to take advantage of this new lucrative market. Our farmers and local businessmen accordingly lack the knowledge, skills and resources to cultivate and sell the commodity. When growing sesame seed for export, farmers face the traditional challenge of establishing commercial links with domestic exporters and international buyers. These difficulties informed the intervention of NSSAN.

NSSAN is collaborating with Raw Material Research and Development Council, National Cereal Research institute, Sassakawa global 2000 and state government agricultural development program offices have worked out how farmers can increase sesame seed production and quality through seed distribution and extension support. We shall work with agriculture development program extension workers to identify new production zones, attract new farmers, distribute and sell agricultural inputs, collate production data for planning purposes and provide information on improved cultivation and harvesting techniques through train the trainers’ scheme.

NSSAN will also collaborate with CBN, NAPEP, NEPC, MDG, FINANCE INSTITUTIONS, IFAD, SMEDAN, NAFDAC, SON, SGS, FADAMA, NEXIM BANK,BOI, DEVELOPMENTAL AGENCIES, LOCAL, STATE ,FCTA and federal governments etc, to develop sesame seed value chains. NSSAN organize annual meeting with sesame seed farmers in the industry called pre-harvest to help farmers aggregate their individual harvest into exportable quality and to elect delegates who would represent them at a larger forum of local buyers/ sellers meeting to be organized by NSSAN in collaboration with Nigerian Export Promotion Council. NSSAN and NEPC use the pre-harvest meeting to educate producers about market dynamic, negotiations tactics and current price trends.

NSSAN organize buyers- sellers meetings, in major producing areas to facilitate fair negotiation among the different participants and to stimulate competition among buyers of sesame seed where demand outstrips supply. We also organize representatives from buyers to meet with local producers group and negotiate price contract terms, which the commodity has to offer.

NSSAN shall conduct survey on yearly basis in collaboration with the state agricultural development programs, raw materials research and development council, national bureau of statistic and federal ministry of agriculture. This is the most important area in the production, which attracts little or no attention at all from Nigerian farmers. As a result, they cannot plan and cannot project production and export. NSSAN assist farmers to source for agricultural loans at a reasonable rate and give the support as follows:

1) Formation of farmers into cooperative groups.
2) Sensitization of the cooperative groups via their emirate councils/traditional councils
or any respected institution within their communities
3) Capacity building on farm, processing, marketing and loan management.
4) Loan documentation and disbursement.(based on operational needs )
5) Farm inspection and quality management.(monitoring & evaluation)
6) Buy back arrangement with the cooperative farmers group.( future market )
7) Goods recovery and loan repayment.
8) Management of contract farming.
9) Advocacy for government support on infrastructural development at the farm gate.

NSSAN shall further pioneer the use of internet to develop production, processing and marketing of all commodities. The website would be a business-to-business website linking Nigerian sesame seed commodity farmers, processors and exporters with local and international buyers, research institute and financial institutions. The site will be used to disseminate regional market information and pricing trends, as well as providing a substantial library of technical resources.
Our monitoring and evaluation unit will work in conjunction with the state agricultural development program officers; NSSAN will trade and gather data on all production, processing and export.

PROPOSED OUTPUTS:
(a) 500,000 additional jobs to be created within the next 3years from sesame seed farming, processing and marketing.
(b) $600million additional foreign earner from sesame seed export.
(c) Cottage industrial revolution at the farm gate.
(d) Increase private sector investment in sesame seed value chains.
(e) Reduction of rural dwellers migration to the urban.
(f) Ability to supply large quantity of tonnage.
(g) Uninterrupted and regular flow of raw materials for export / domestic industrial usage
(h) Protection from fluctuation in market pricing and dedicated supplier base.
(i) Long term planning made possible and concept can be extended to other crops.