eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Zimbabwe Super Seed company is targeting to produce hybrid seed and promote the uptake of seed production by smallholder farmers in the country, a company official says.
Shylock Chatyoka, the company’s marketing and operations officer told the Herald that his organisation was now working with 750 smallholder farmers up from just 28 when it started operating in 2013.
“We only started with 28 smallholder farmers but now we are working with around 750 farmers who are producing seed for us on contract,” he said.
“We are encouraging farmers to venture into seed production because they earn better prices. Our farmers are now growing beans, groundnuts, maize, cowpea seed. Its very lucrative for them.”
ZSS which started operating in Makoni district in 2015 and Masvingo in 2013, has to date managed to produce 86 metric tonnes of beans, 378 metric tonnes maize, 5,85 metric tonnes groundnuts and one metric tonne of cowpeas.
The company contracts smallholder farmers to grow different varieties of seed as part of efforts to enhance farmer earnings and boost seed production.
“The market for seed is there as long as we produce good quality seed,” said Chatyoka. “The competition is stiff but we are strengthening our collaboration with our farmers. We want to produce hybrid seed.
“We are growing and this season we supplied Government with 30 tonnes of maize seed under the Command Agriculture programme. We are aiming to supply some 600 tonnes under this programme.”
Farmers earn about $600 for a tonne of maize supplied, $1 500 per tonne of groundnuts and beans and $700 for cowpeas per tonne.
Zimbabwe Super Seeds started as a co-operative of farmers, but it was now operating as a full company.
Dr Peter Kormawa, the FAO Zimbabwe country representative, who was on a familiarization tour of projects in Makoni, Mutasa, Chipinge, Masvingo and Chiredzi rural districts, hailed the company for working closely with smallholder farmers.
“It is pleasing and encouraging that seed companies are working closely with smallholder farmers to produce seed,” he said. “The FAO fully supports market linkages that create opportunities for farmers to take farming as a business.
“We want our farmers to earn more and improve their livelihoods. Farmers are in business and we want them have something in their pockets.
The FAO is supporting various irrigation, forestry and nutrition, livelihoods and food security programs in various parts of the country.
Several communities have benefited under the FAO smallholder irrigation support programme meant to help boost crop output and improve food security in this dry regions of Zimbabwe.
The FAO in partnership with the Government has also rehabilitated various irrigation schemes funded by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss Agency Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Apart from this, the FAO has also partnered Practical Action, Environment Africa and other NGOs to implement Livelihoods and Food Security Programme.
