African seed producers seek regional action on rapid release of improved seeds

African seed producers and researchers want regional actions that will fast track the release of seeds with a call on policy makers to remove the bottlenecks in seed multiplication and rapid release of improved varieties.

At a policy workshop on Thursday on seed sector in West Africa held in Abuja, the stakeholders sought the harmonization of regional seed laws to close the gap between seed demand and supply in the region.

“The road blocks need to be removed by harmonizing varieties' releasing laws in the West African sub region. For example, we have too many regulatory agencies on the highways. That needs to be broken and the market opened otherwise we have no headway and the gap will remain,” says Mr. Osofo Patrick Apullah, Managing Director of Ghana-based Savanna Seed Services Limited.

Studies conducted by researchers at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and

International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) show maize demand far outweighing supply in West Africa.

For instance, results showed improved maize seed supply in Nigeria accounting for only 47 per cent of total seed requirement, 11 per cent in Ghana, and 33 per cent for West Africa in the period of 1997 to 2007.

Dr. Tahirou Abdoulaye, IITA Agricultural Economists who led the study says maize seed production is still lower than needed in the West Africa and called on a favourable policy framework that will attract the private sector in the seed industry.

Grown in the vast lands of Africa, maize is life to more than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), each of whom consumes an average 43 kilos of the crop per year.

In recent years, the productivity of this important crop has been severely threatened by a matrix of problems including slow pace of release of improved seeds to farmers, frequent droughts and irregular rainfall.

Dr. Wilfred Mwangi, Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project Manager and Associate Director, CIMMYT Global Maize Program, says for improved seed varieties to reach farmers, a functional, effective, vibrant, and streamlined seed sector is critical.

According to him, the study by IITA-CIMMYT on maize suggests that the seed sector in West Africa is faced with many challenges that need attention.

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Development / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com