 April, 2009
Source:
CIMMYT
Despite strong growth in the
private seed sector in eastern and southern Africa over the last
decade, most of region’s millions of smallscale farmers lack
easy access to aff ordable, quality seed of maize, the
number-one food staple. A major study by CIMMYT shows the need
for active investments in the region’s seed sector and for
policies to support its development.
Since the mid-1990s, when many
countries in eastern and southern Africa opened maize seed
markets to private enterprises, registered maize seed companies
have
proliferated, along with other types of seed producers. In the
2006-07 cropping season, 82 registered maize seed companies
produced the bulk of just-over 100,000 tons of
improved maize seed marketed in the region—enough to sow 35% of
the region’s maize land.
“The good news is that we have four times more seed companies
today than 10 years ago and they have increased seed provision
from 26% to 35% of the total
planted maize area. Yet there is still a signifi cant unmet
demand for seed, meaning that farmers lack access to breeding
progress contained in new varieties,” says CIMMYT socioeconomist
Augustine Langyintuo.
With the current challenges of the
global food price crisis and climate change, the work of the
Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project—developing and
gett ing good quality, drought tolerant, high-yielding,
locally adapted maize varieties to farmers in Africa—is more
important and urgent than ever.
Full article:
http://www.cimmyt.org/english/docs/ann_report/2008/pdf/qualitySeedAfrica.pdf
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