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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
FAKE seed distributors are on the prowl across Africa, many of whom sell products that compromise yields.

African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) vice president Denias Zaranyika who is attending the on-going 2015 regional seed congress in Victoria Falls said fake seed dealers have become a threat to food security as well.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made is expected to tackle the issue when he delivers his address today after Malawi raised the issue Monday.

“The issue of fake seed is a very delicate one. We’ve legislation but as long as implementation isn’t done it remains difficult to deal with it,” said a delegate from Malawi.

Other delegates challenged AFSTA to empower small-scale producers as a way of eliminating fake seed by increasing quality and quantity.

Members of the regional association want all countries to join hands as regulators and associations to fight fake seed production, which they said threatens food security.

Zaranyika, who is also Seedco managing director said Zimbabwe’s situation was better compared to other countries.

“It’s not as bad as it is in other countries internationally because locally there is a lot of conscientisation on the need to use certified seed since we’ve an effective seed system in the name of organs such as Agritex,” he said.

“As an association we need to be writing papers and have conscientisation campaigns. We need a lot of research on new seed varieties.”

He said the challenge of fake seeds was compounded by poor rainfall that result in low yields.

The essence of thorough research in areas such as nitrogen efficient seeds that require less nutrients, he added, is key as most farmers cannot afford to buy fertilizers.

“We want yields to improve in Africa so that we’ve food security. AFSTA was started to ensure there’s seed security, high quality seed and adequate quantity and we’re here coming together as Africa to discuss these issues,” said Zaranyika.

Zimbabwe Seed Trade Association (ZSTA) chairman Walter Chigodora said the Seed Act was playing a critical role in controlling seed production in the country.

“The Act was put in place to look into how seed is produced and quality control in terms of purity, germination and diseases,” he said.

Zimbabwe has 22 registered seed companies falling under ZSTA — six specialising in vegetable seed, three forage seed, nine on a variety of seeds, one cotton, two potatoes and one tobacco.

On Monday the meeting touched on membership and composition of associations and yesterday focus was on international systems needed to develop an enabling environment to provide food security and economic development.

The congress ends tomorrow and is being attended by seed trade associations and seed companies from Africa, Asia and Europe.

AFSTA is a 100-member organisation formed in 2000 to champion interests of private seed companies in Africa.

The association was mandated by regional blocs — Comesa and Sadc to work on harmonisation of areas such as seed certification standards, variety release system and seed import and export procedures targeting maize, rice, groundnuts, cotton, beans, cassava, wheat, potato, sunflower, sorghum, soya beans and millet.