Sowing the seeds of food security
Improved seeds, more than any other input, hold the key to enhanced farm productivity and increased income generation.' That was the assumption behind a CTA study visit to 19 seed supply projects in Zimbabwe by 16 seed supply experts from Ethiopia, Malawi. Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and the host country in February 1999. The visits focused on work with smallholder farmers since, according to the visit report, 'considering that small-grain and other indigenous crops hold the key to household and national food security, denying smallholders continuous availability of high-quality seeds implies that food security will remain unattainable.' The report details each visit, outlines the seed supply situation in participants home countries, and explains the follow-up work to which each participant was committed upon return home. Much of the information is technical, but it also encompasses socioeconomic aspects in management decision-making. Among the crisp set of recommendations, the ones on strengthening marketing and distribution, and on emphasising local knowledge and informal systems are most appropriate for replication and adaptation in other countries. The Role of Smallholder Farmers in Seed Production Systems. Report and Recommendations of a Study Visit, Zimbabwe, 1999. CTA. 2000. 100 pp. ISBN 92 9081 2176. CTA number 965. 10 credit points.
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2000
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/46753 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99588 |
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