Seed Co challenges farmers

SEED CO has challenged farmers to raise productivity levels to above three tonnes per hectare in a bid to strengthen the country’s food security.

Speaking during a luncheon held for journalists in Harare yesterday, Seed Co managing director Mr Denias Zaranyika said increasing agricultural productivity remained a central concern for his company.

“This is because it is a major factor in determining the level of income of the farming sector; in achieving sustainable food and income security for all agricultural producers and consumers, particularly resource-poor households,” he said.

“Agricultural productivity is also important in meeting the food requirements of our continuously growing population and in generating foreign exchange to finance domestic programmes.”

Mr Zaranyika said the company’s main focus area had always been research and development in order to improve livelihoods and incomes.

“Initiatives such as the Seed Co 11-Tonne Plus Club in the large scale commercial farming sector, as well as the National Crop Farming Competition for smallholder farmers are geared towards ensuring that our farmers not only adopt good farming practices, but increase their productivity to above average potential of our hybrids,” he said.

“The next stage of our challenge is to ensure that we commercialise the smallholder sector. We want to see a paradigm shift from smallholder subsistence to small-large maize farming businesses.

“In this respect, the ultimate challenge is to raise maize productivity levels from the current average of about 0,8 tonnes per hectare to over three tonnes.”

Mr Zaranyika’s statements come at a time when the company is improving its hybrid seeds to enhance the country’s production levels of 0,8 tonnes per hectare to anything above a tonne per hectare.