The FG through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development distributed certified seeds to States in the South -South and South East States of the country. For South South State that benefited from this was Edo State. A total of 3,500 smallholder farmers benefited from the intervention. Each farmer is expected to cultivate 1Ha and produce 4Mt of paddy each, which will translate to 14,000Mt added to the national Production.

Also, certified Rice seeds of high yielding and early maturing FARO 44 and flood tolerant (FARO 66 and 67) varieties seeds was distributed to Enugu State. It was distributed through the Rice Farmers Associations of Nigeria (RIFAN) farmers Cooperatives and other Small Holders Farmers group to support them for the 2023 Wet season production.

The objective of the support is to avail rice farmers with certified seed of good quality and high yielding rice varieties for 2023 cropping season to help them recover from losses suffered during the 2022 wet season.