Current marketing, supply and demand of the agricultural seeds in Zimbabwe

Future agricultural growth in the communal areas of Zimbabwe must come from intensified land use. This cannot be achieved on any large scale until the needs of small-scale farmers are met with respect to agricultural technique and supporting services. Improved seeds are one of the most important techniques in this regard. The genetic quality of seed determines the potential yield and thus the productivity of complementary agricultural inputs and crop husbandry practices. Moreover, and this is of special importance for resource-poor farmers in communal areas, improved seeds can, if appropriate, make a substantial contribution to productivity independent of other inputs. In an African context, Zimbabwe has a reputation for a very high standard of agricultural research and for a highly efficient private seed industry - the largest of its kind in Africa. This working paper examines the equity function of seed supply in Zimbabwe, and analyses the extent to which improved seeds are delivered of the types and quantities required by communal farmers in a timely manner to appropriate locations, and at affordable prices. Standard textbooks on rural development in Africa pay little attention to agricultural seed in their discussion of input supply systems. Written material on agricultural research and seed production in Zimbabwe is indeed very limited and scattered. The information used in this report is primarily based on interviews of key persons within the industry and surveys in two communal areas, Silobela and Chiduku, covering 70 households. The author has been a research associate at Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies (ZIDS) during the period from 1989 to 1991, involved in a research project entitled "The Role of the Seed - Prospects for Food Security and Sustainable Development in Communal Areas of Zimbabwe". ZIDS has provided a fruitful and highly conducive environment for discussion, for which I am very grateful. I particularly appreciate the support that I received from the head of department, Sam Moyo, and research colleagues Ismir Sunga and Roger Mponde. I am indebted to the ZIDS secretarial, administrative and library staffs for the excellent assistance they have given me