MOMBASA, Kenya, Mar 7 – The African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) has said that seed technologies and tools play a pivotal role in enhancing seed systems and crop production globally.
AFSTA stated that the availability of quality seeds is critical to enhancing crop productivity for a food- and nutrition-secure continent.
Munyaradzi Jonga, a Seed Production Specialist and TAAT Maize Compact Lead at AATF, highlighted the potential for improving Africa’s agricultural productivity by utilizing high-quality seeds of newly developed climate-smart varieties from various breeding programs in the region.
He stressed the importance of stimulating demand and functional markets to promote the adoption of improved varieties, advocating for supportive policies and partnerships to drive innovation and enhance seed systems.
“We need to implement policies that will encourage new innovations and enhance seed systems,” he said during the AFSTA Congress in Mombasa.
According to Jonga, constraints to seed system development and food production in Africa include inefficient policy environments, lengthy breeding cycles, pest and disease pressures, and inadequate seed quality.
He emphasized the significance of collaborations and partnerships in technology development, product awareness, demand creation and uptake by farmers, and the need for a conducive policy and regulatory environment for seed system development and commercialization.
“Effective collaboration and partnerships are critical for consistent high quality seed delivery to farmers,” he stated.
Despite the development of technologies and innovations, particularly climate-resilient crop varieties, by international and national research organizations, the commercialization of these outputs remains a challenge in Africa.
Efforts are being made to enable private companies to access and commercialize these varieties.
Jonga continued to say that AATF is actively involved in commercializing technologies and innovations through partnerships, resulting in the release of numerous drought-tolerant maize hybrids and significant quantities of climate-smart maize seeds, addressing the impacts of droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa.
He stated that the organization has released over 124 DroughtTEGO hybrids and produced 36,328 tons of climate-smart maize seeds, enough to plant 1.5 million hectares.
AATF works across many areas to ensure innovations can ultimately reach farmers.
These areas include regulatory approval, licensing agreements, and product commercialization.
