adminSifelani Tsiko
The mainstreaming of indigenous seed production for vegetables and crops into national programmes is critical for the country’s food security particularly now when the country is experiencing the devastating impact of climate change.Agricultural experts who met recently at a workshop to evaluate seed, food and nutrition security issues affecting Zimbabwe expressed concern over the erosion of indigenous crop and vegetable germ plasm which is important in strengthening the country’s climate change resilience.
Of major concern also was the absence of solid policy frameworks to promote the production of indigenous vegetable seed such as tsunga, nyevhe, mutsine, (okra varieties) derere rebupwe, regusha, rename, renyunje as well as indigenous seed varieties for sorghum, millet, cow peas, pumpkins and a whole range of Zimbabwean crop diversity.
Agriculturalists noted with concern the practical disappearance of indigenous crop and vegetable varieties at a time when nutritional density was much more important than yields per hectare.
Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) veteran agronomist Mr Andrew Mushita said lack of proper policies on seed production were affecting small holder farmers in most rural areas.
“So far we have the national food and nutrition security policy to address the issue of food as a fundamental right and Government need appropriate legislative framework to achieve the progressive realisation of this right,” he said.
“There is need for harmonisation of seed laws to allow the growth of farmers’ own seed varieties which are tolerant to drought and climatic change.
“Smallholder farmers in Africa share and save about 80 percent of the seed they use for food crops compared to a world average of 35 percent,” he said.
Statistics indicate that 80 percent of the food produced in the country is obtained from small scale farmers.
“The government must assist small scale farmers by placing mechanisms which allow seed multiplication on-farm reduce seed shortages in resource-poor communities,” Mr Mushita said.
Dr Mushita highlighted that smallholder farmers grow as many as 25-30 crop varieties on one hectare providing food nutrition density per hectare that surpasses the commercial farming of growing one crop on one hectare.
Agricultural experts say there is need for the Government to recognise informal seed systems and the role they play in preserving indigenous germ-plasm.
“We are concerned with the loss of crop biodiversity,” said Prof Arnold Mashingaidze, a Chinhoyi University of Technology agricultural expert. “When you look at the seed system you are looking at our national heritage systems and indigenous knowledge science.
“When you lose indigenous seed varieties, we are also losing our collective memory as Zimbabweans.”
Agricultural experts say the world’s agro-biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. For several major crops, up to 80-90 percent losses in variety over the past century have been reported.
Zimbabwe has lost a number of local crop varieties due to neglect, erosion of local indigenous knowledge systems, promotion of improved varieties, lack of incentives for locally adapted crops and recognition of the keepers of crop diversity among other factors.
Experts at the workshop said one of the major problems constraining agricultural development in Africa, particularly in the face of climate change when access to new and genetically diverse varieties is critical, is the lack of support for smallholder farmer seed production and distribution system.
This, they argued, has hampered efforts to improve the supply of quality seeds of adapted varieties in remote parts of the country which have no easy access to seed produced by big companies in faraway cities.
They said most governments in Africa have created a conducive environment for private sector seed companies to thrive, marginalising smallholder farmers who have safeguarded and conserved indigenous seed varieties for ages.
The private sector, largely driven by profit, has not taken up the challenge to promote self-pollinated and open-pollinated indigenous crop and vegetable varieties.
Private seed producers argue strongly that it is not attractive to private investment because of low profit even though agricultural experts now say crop diversity — a mixture of high yielding seed varieties and indigenous varieties is vital for nutrition density as opposed to the old belief of high yields per hectare.
As a result smallholder farmers are left without access to seeds of new and improved varieties of their local food security crops because of lack of indigenous crop research and development policy support.
“We have completely underrated small grains (indigenous crops) and we need to change this,” said Mr Moffat Nyamangara, a senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.
“We need the right curriculum to promote local seed varieties. Unless we have a very strong seed system, we are going to fail in terms of strengthening our food security system.
“The key players is our smallholder farmer and he is the person who is going to deliver food security to Zimbabwe.”
Agricultural experts said promoting indigenous vegetable and crop seed will help provide the much needed vitamins and other medicinal properties needed by consumers facing a myriad of health problems. They say Zimbabwe needs to mainstream indigenous crops and vegetables into the national nutritional programmes and policies, as well as national curricula and training programmes to close the gap between exotic commercial vegetable production and indigenous vegetables by smallholder farmers.
“Intensive promotion should be done from both a production and consumption perspective. More research should be done on varieties suited for the several regions of the country with a view to commercialisation,” said an agricultural expert at this workshop which was organised by CTDT, a Harare-based NGO which promotes sustainable agricultural development.
“Seed Houses should be encouraged to produce seeds for indigenous crops and vegetables. Cooperation and working together among all players will yield the desired results.”
The workshop which drew together agronomists, environmentalists, legal experts, policy makers, seed production and marketing experts, government officials and other stakeholders discussed ways on how policies could be crafted to promote indigenous seed production and how to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers in the wake of climate change related impacts.
There is growing acceptance that indigenous crop varieties were important in improving the nutrition of people particularly now when there is a rise in non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and others.
Agriculturalists say it is worrying that the consumption of indigenous vegetables had declined sharply with the introduction and aggressive promotion of exotic vegetables (cabbages, spinach, carrots, broccoli).
They say the Government should promote similar approaches among smallholder farmers as those in the private seed sector to promote quality seed production of indigenous varieties.
In addition, they also say there is need to formulate, reform and implement adapted policies and legislation necessary to promote the production and dissemination of quality seed of indigenous crops. Policy framework for this, will make it possible to attract potential donors encourage the development of smallholder farmer seed production systems as an alternative in the absence of private sector investment.
It has also been observed that national seed production and dissemination systems insufficiently meet seed demand and farmers have to largely rely on their own saved seeds.
The seed control and certification process is costly and not always conducted in a timely manner to support the growth of smallholder farmer seed systems.
This has seriously hindered commercialisation for smallholder farmers who have safeguarded indigenous seed varieties for ages.
Government officials admitted that they do not have sufficient knowledge of indigenous seed production systems to help formalise it.
They also said they do not adequate personnel and equipment necessary to support local seed production systems.
“We don’t have enough knowledge to formalise the informal seed system,” said a government official. “We don’t have the data and a supportive policy framework.”
Poor road and telecommunications infrastructure has hampered efforts to explore ways to develop indigenous seed varieties in remote communities.
Strengthening the capacities of selected farmers or farmer organisations to produce and manage the distribution of quality indigenous seed varieties is critical, agricultural experts said.
This, they argue, will help improve seed production for the main food security crops which are important in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The journey to developing the indigenous seed variety system is not easy but encouraging dialogue is a small step towards raising the profile of indigenous food crops.
“It’s a long walk but it’s good that we are starting,” said Mr Mushita.
“We need a paradigm shift and slowly we will get there.”
Online Reporter