Governments, Farmers and Seeds in a Changing

Within the international community there is a growing awareness of the need for a broader and deeper understanding of the relationship between governments and farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Nowhere in the agricultural sector is this awareness growing more rapidly than in the seed sub-sector. Here the quest for alternatives to the large-scale government seed supply organizations of the 1970s and 1980s is becoming more urgent in the face of Africa's stagnating crop yields and mounting food deficits. This book presents the results of the first study to investigate the African seed sector in detail, using case study material from Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It provides a new conceptual approach to analyzing structural and organizational issues in the seed sector; assesses the likely impact on the seed sector of the two trends of structural adjustment and greater emphasis on community participation; and explains the policy lessons for organizing the delivery of inputs such as seeds.

About the Author

viii

(1)

Preface and Acknowledgements

ix

(2)

Tables and Diagrams

xi

(2)

Acronyms

xiii

Chapter 1 Introduction

1

(7)

1.1 Governments and Farmers in Africa

1

(2)

1.2 Pressures of Change in the African Seed Sector

3

(1)

1.3 Seed Systems - Definitions

4

(2)

1.4 How this Book is Organised

6

(2)

Chapter 2 The Seed Sector in Perspective

8

(18)

2.1 Historical Development of the Seed Sector

8

(3)

2.2 Types of Formal Sector Seed Suppliers

11

(3)

2.3 Types of Farmer Seed-Purchasers

14

(2)

2.4 The Seed Needs of Farmers in CDR Areas

16

(4)

2.5 Seed Sources Used by Farmers in CDR Areas

20

(1)

2.6 The Informal Seed Sector

21

(5)

Chapter 3 The Market for Modern Variety Seed

26

(10)

3.1 Producers and Consumers

26

(3)

3.2 The Product

29

(4)

3.3 The Market

33

(3)

Chapter 4 A Framework for Seed Sector Analysis

36

(9)

4.1 Defining Seed Sector Functions

37

(1)

4.2 Primary Indicators of Performance

37

(1)

4.3 Explanatory Variables

37

(1)

4.4 Causal Factors

38

(1)

4.5 Methodology for Seed Sector Analysis

39

(1)

4.6 Data Sources and Data Collection

40

(5)

Chapter 5 From Parastatal to Multi-National Subsidiary: What Role for the National Seed Company of Malawi?

45

(26)

5.1 Introduction

45

(1)

5.2 Background

45

(1)

5.3 Small Farmers

46

(2)

5.4 The Seed Sector

48

(2)

5.5 Seed Sector Analysis

50

(15)

5.6 Conclusions

65

(6)

Chapter 6 Seed Supply in Zambia: Life After the Provincial Co-operative Unions?

71

(20)

6.1 Introduction

71

(1)

6.2 Background

71

(1)

6.3 Small Farmers

72

(1)

6.4 The Seed Sector

73

(2)

6.5 Seed Sector Analysis

75

(11)

6.6 Conclusions

86

(5)

Chapter 7 The Seed Co-op and Communal Farmers in Zimbabwe: Friends or Foes?

91

(26)

7.1 Introduction

91

(1)

7.2 Background

91

(1)

7.3 Small Farmers

92

(1)

7.4 The Seed Sector

93

(2)

7.5 Seed Sector Analysis

95

(15)

Conclusions

110

(7)

Chapter 8 Conclusions

117

(19)

8.1 Seed Sector Performance During the 1980s

117

(2)

8.2 The Influence of Organisational Efficiency on Performance

119

(1)

8.3 Public and Private Sector Efficiency Compared

119

(1)

8.4 The Impact of Seed Sector Re-structuring in the 1990s

120

(3)

8.5 Suitable Roles for Different Seed Sector Actors

123

(4)

8.6 The Role of MV Seed in CDR Farming Systems

127

(3)

8.7 Other Factors Influencing Seed Sector Performance

130

(5)

8.8 Closing Remarks

135

(1)

References

136

(7)

Appendix 1 Technical Features of Seed Production

143

(9)

1.1 The Nature of Improvement in MV Seed

143

(1)

1.2 Seed Production for Different Crop Species

144

(4)

1.3 Generation Control

148

(1)

1.4 Technical and Economic Interactions

149

(3)

Appendix 2 Example Seed Project Cost-Benefit Analysis

152

(8)

Appendix 3 Seed Sector Statistics for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

160

(3)

Appendix 4 Assumptions Used in Calculating Economics of Malawi Smallholder Seed Multiplication Scheme

163

(2)

Index

165

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Governments, Farmers and Seeds in a Changing Africa

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Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials