Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems for African Crops
Seed Systems Research
Abstracts from the Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems
Conference
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Assessment
of marketing and utilization of improved maize seed in southern Africa:
The case of Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe M.A.R. Phiri Agriculture
remains the most important sector for economic growth and development
for the majority of the SADC countries. Despite the dependence on
agriculture, agricultural production in the recent past decade has
failed to keep pace with rapid population growth.
While population growth rate for most of Sub-Saharan has been on
average as high as 2.9 percent per year since 1980, the growth of
agricultural production has only been 1.7 percent per year. Without
increased agricultural production, food security, poverty reduction, and
natural resource conservation goals cannot be achieved.
Food security in the region is defined in relation to the
availability of maize, the main staple in these countries. Persistent
drought, declining soil fertility resulting from continuous cultivation
of the same piece of land, and limited access to agricultural inputs
such as improved seed and inorganic fertilizer have been considered to
be the major factors destabilizing maize production, income and food
security in the SADC region. Of all the inputs used in agriculture, none has the
ability to affect productivity as much as seed (Morris, 1998). Through
its genetic properties, seed places the upper limit on yield potential
and influences the productivity of other inputs by determining the
ability of plants to convert sunlight, water, air, soil and other
nutrients into biomass. Six
studies were concurrently carried out in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. In Malawi and Zambia two studies were carried out in each of
the two countries. The main objective of these studies was to assess
smallholder farmers’ utilization of improved seed in the SADC region.
This study was aimed at determining product range and customer
perception of the products. This looked at characterization and
quantification of the market in terms of the various segments of buyers.
This study basically aimed at understanding the socio-economic
characteristics, seed buying behaviour and perception of the buyers of
hybrid maize seed, open pollinated varieties (OPV) and those who do not
buy any improved seed at all and at factors that determine the adoption,
purchasing frequency and purchased amount (demand) of/for improved maize
seed. With the exception of
Zimbabwe, the studies revealed that local maize varieties were
predominantly still grown by the majority of smallholder farmers, where
they occupy about 60 percent of the land put to maize. Hybrids are
second representing 30 percent while OPV, occupy about 10 percent of the
land. Much as farmers know that there is a yield advantage by growing
hybrids, continued importance of such factors as poundability, taste,
resistance to storage pests and the perceived high demand for fertilizer
of hybrids push the majority of smallholder farmers to continue growing
local maize varieties. As for the hybrids, it was found out that farmers
were sticking to the varieties they knew best mainly those that had been
on the market for a longer time and those that beside the yield
advantage were also similar to local varieties, such as MH 18 in Malawi.
It is recommended therefore, that maize-breeding programs should
as much as possible incorporate farmers’ preferences that influence
the choice of the type of maize to grow.
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