Focus on . . . Seeds
What are the best ways to ensure that farmers start their cropping season with the highest potential for success? The seed is obviously critical but can farmers get access to, or afford, high quality seeds? Who should take responsibility for multiplication, quality control and distribution? Innovative ways are being explored to bring good quality seeds to those who farm on a small scale. We focus on some of these initiatives and find out how the seed industry could be more versatile and better able to supply what farmers need.
While the last few decades have seen great advances in seed variety and quality, small-scale farmers in Africa have benefited little. New types of seed tend to be...
Less than 10% of the sorghum and millet varieties grown in southern African countries are improved varieties despite the work of the SADC/ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Programme (SMIP), and partners, which has...
A region and its people devastated by war or natural disaster need more than time to recover. Not only are people killed and homes destroyed but the inevitable...
Not everyone can get excited about seed but for anyone who derives a livelihood, or pleasure, from growing plants, seed raises hopes and expectations that no other stage in the growing cycle can stimulate. And, as for any potentially...
A researchers' responsibility?
In an office in a research station in Uganda, three plant breeders talk animatedly about the potential of new varieties of bean, maize and cassava currently being evaluated on-farm. And yet, despite the potential of these varieties, it can take up to...
Seed Industry in India: Poised for a leap
Seeds form the fundamental and crucial input for sustained growth in farm production, often stimulating the use of new methods, machinery and yield-enhancing agro-inputs. The role of the seed sector is not only to...
What is obvious to one person may not be obvious to another. In agriculture there are many examples of research results, which appear to offer significant benefits to farmers, not being adopted. This may be...
