Agriculture ministry on drive to promote use of improved seeds

Despite a major growth in the country’s seed production sector in recent years, it has been unveiled that huge percentages of the indigenous farmers are still using uncertified varieties, resulting in low yields.

Senior agriculture officer from the crops development department at the ministry of agriculture, Samson Poneja, said the sixth phase government has strived and succeeded to create conducive environment which has so far helped to attract giant stakeholders from the private sector to chip in and invest into the seed production sector.

“Contrary to the past years, availability and accessibility of improved seed varieties in the country has currently increased to an impressive tune, but it's discouraging that most of the farmers are yet to adopt the certified varieties,” he observed.

He added that the parent ministry was working closely with potential seed investors, including the Tanzania Seed Trade Association (TASTA) to push for increased product and availability of crop varieties, the development which will automatically help to reduce prices of seed.

“The government's chief focus is to discourage seed importation trends and ensure local farmers are getting certified varieties at affordable prices,” he expressed.

Poneja observed that the country's seed demand was standing at 187,000 tons annually, saying what was being produced was however low, at least 70,000 tons.

 “Despite the tall existing gap in meeting the country's actual annual seed demand, the current seed being produced (70,000 tones) are underutilized by the farmers, hence we keep on experiencing seed's carryover in each year," he stated.

To help improve the situation, he expressed that the ministry of agriculture has embarked on a program to educate and sensitize the farmers over the importance of applying use of improved varieties.

"The target is to promote use of certified seed among the farmers countrywide. Local agro -researchers are doing great work to innovate and breed hybrid and Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) that are disease free, drought tolerant and with high yield in order to ensure farmers are yielding bumper," he insisted.

Adding more information, he said the goal was to see the farmers use varieties that have been inspected and certified by the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) and refrain from use of local (landrace) seed.

According to Director General (DG) of TOSCI, Patrick Ngwediagi, the state- owned seed institute is implementing a special strategy to equip the country’s agricultural sector with abundant improved varieties, the move aimed also at cutting-down mass importation of seeds from outside the country.

He informed that TOSCI was continue to encourage and assist available seed producers to increase production levels in order to cater for the increasing demand of seed within the country.

He said the country was currently with at least 586 plant varieties of at least 33 different crops registered by the institute.

He disclosed the crop species with number of available varieties in brackets as maize (160 varieties), rice (20), wheat (25), sorghum (15), beans (30), cowpea (5), pigeon pea (6), sesame (4), sweet potato (15) cassava (15) and sunflower 7 varieties.

Others are vegetables (210), coffee (15), cashew nuts (40), sugar cane (7), tea (7), and round potato 7 varieties.

"The institute is also working closely with Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) which has mandate on variety development as well as other private breeders so that new plant varieties can be released and registered by TOSCI to provide better choices to farmers, " he assured.

A countrywide seed analytical research conducted lately last year by the African Seed Access Index (TASAI) established that at least 64 varieties were released in Tanzania for the four crops between 2018 and 2020.

Among the released seeds, 42 were maize varieties, three varieties for rice, 11 for bean and eight varieties were for sunflower.

However, of the 64 varieties released, 45 varieties (35 maize varieties, one rice variety, two bean varieties, and seven sunflower varieties) came from the private sector, while the remaining 19 were produced by the public institutions.

According to the research, the record is noteworthy since most of the breeders (29 of 36) work in the public sector.

One of the contribution factors to the high number of varieties released by the private sector, the research report suggests was the mutual collaboration between seed companies and institutions like International Maize and Wheat Improved Centre (CIMMYT).

Impeccable records from the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) depicts that up to 2020, there were a total 218 registered seed companies in Tanzania involved in the production and marketing of seed and planting materials.

Out of which, 43 companies were involved in the production, import; export and marketing of seed of at least one of the four focus crops.

In 2016, Tanzania had a total of 104 registered seed companies, whereby by 2020, the number improved to 218, which is an increase of at least 110 percent.

In 2019 the quantities of seeds importation in terms of tones were, maize (9267), sunflower (152), paddy (4) round Potatoes (970) and vegetables seeds 482 tones.

But due to achievement in improving seed production within the country, at least 81percent of the total of certified seeds used in the country are currently produced home.