Supply certified seeds to boost production: Research

Bean seeds. Researchers want certified seeds to be sold at grain stores among other informal markets to enhance availability thereby boosting food production. FILE PHOTO | NATIO MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Lead researcher and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Senior Technical Adviser Louise Sperling said food production would remain low since informal sources of seeds denied farmers the high yielding varieties best suited for their regions.

By JAMES KARIUKI
More by this Author

Researchers want certified seeds to be sold at grain stores among other informal markets to enhance availability thereby boosting food production.

An extensive study has found that while most farmers buy seeds from local shops, they are exposed to substandard seeds where unscrupulous seed producers thrive.

The report published in this month’s Journal of Food Security says that local markets and other informal sources must be considered to help farmers mitigate climate, nutrition and other production challenges in regions where food security remains a major concern.

The survey which looked at some 10,000 seed transactions across five African countries and Haiti discovered that 55 per cent of smallholder farmers in Africa knew the importance of purchasing certified seeds that were disease and drought resistance but had no access to the same.

“64 per cent of seeds for crops like beans and cowpea among other legumes that are an essential source of protein and other nutrients are bought at local markets or from friends but a paltry 2.4 per cent get certified seeds produced by private seed companies and sold through farm supply stores,” it laments.

High yielding varieties

Lead researcher and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Senior Technical Adviser Louise Sperling said food production would remain low since informal sources of seeds denied farmers the high yielding varieties best suited for their regions.

“The challenge is that most of their purchases are going through informal channels like local markets, which do not have access to many of the new crop varieties that could help farmers improve nutrition and adapt to climate change,” she said.

Ms Sperling and her co-author Mr Shawn McGuire said supplying smallholder farmers with a wider selection of crop varieties is a significant and untapped business opportunity for both formal and informal seed sellers.

“International institutions and national governments are aggressively investing in developing new crop varieties specifically intended to help smallholder farmers like beans that can withstand high temperatures, potatoes that are resistant to late season blight and maize that can tolerate droughts,” the study adds.

They mourned that innovations in crop science would be of little value if smallholder farmers were left out in seed delivery.

Mr McGuire said the formal sector must firmly focus on serving the needs of smallholder farmers as this is an important source for seeds.