Current marketing, supply and demand of the agricultural seeds in Zimbabwe
Abstract
Future agricultural growth in the communal areas of Zimbabwe must come from
intensified land use. This cannot be achieved on any large scale until the needs of
small-scale farmers are met with respect to agricultural technique and supporting
services. Improved seeds are one of the most important techniques in this regard. The
genetic quality of seed determines the potential yield and thus the productivity of
complementary agricultural inputs and crop husbandry practices. Moreover, and this
is of special importance for resource-poor farmers in communal areas, improved seeds
can, if appropriate, make a substantial contribution to productivity independent of
other inputs.
In an African context, Zimbabwe has a reputation for a very high standard of
agricultural research and for a highly efficient private seed industry - the largest of its kind in Africa.
This working paper examines the equity function of seed supply in Zimbabwe, and
analyses the extent to which improved seeds are delivered of the types and quantities
required by communal farmers in a timely manner to appropriate locations, and at
affordable prices.
Standard textbooks on rural development in Africa pay little attention to agricultural
seed in their discussion of input supply systems. Written material on agricultural
research and seed production in Zimbabwe is indeed very limited and scattered. The
information used in this report is primarily based on interviews of key persons within
the industry and surveys in two communal areas, Silobela and Chiduku, covering 70
households.
The author has been a research associate at Zimbabwe Institute of Development
Studies (ZIDS) during the period from 1989 to 1991, involved in a research project
entitled "The Role of the Seed - Prospects for Food Security and Sustainable
Development in Communal Areas of Zimbabwe".
ZIDS has provided a fruitful and highly conducive environment for discussion, for
which I am very grateful. I particularly appreciate the support that I received from
the head of department, Sam Moyo, and research colleagues Ismir Sunga and Roger
Mponde. I am indebted to the ZIDS secretarial, administrative and library staffs for the excellent assistance they have given me.
Additional Citation Information
Friis-Hansen, Esbern (1991). Current marketing, supply and demand of the agricultural seeds in Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies,Publisher
Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies