JONGA: Sub-standard seeds rob region's farmers bountiful harvest
Ann Mwangi sells potato seeds at Soko Mjinga market in Nyeri town on February 3, 2015. With harmonisation of regulations, seed trade constraints will be reduced, and regional markets will become attractive and commercially viable. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The availability of high-quality seeds is critical to achieve high crop productivity for a food secure country. But this has remained a pipe dream within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite the region having huge potential to maximise its agricultural productivity by leveraging on countries with advanced and robust seed systems.
Whereas several crop varieties have been registered in recent years, countries in the region are still lagging in achieving seed security. For example, some 117 climate-smart maize hybrids branded DroughtTEGO® were released under the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project that was implemented by African Agricultural Technology Foundation and its partners in five SSA countries including Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
