Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale says the ministry plans to integrate the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) and the Greenbelt Authority (GBA) to boost seed multiplication efforts in the country.
The minister told Parliament yesterday that the move is designed to produce quality seed for local farmers amid an upsurge of counterfeit products.
Responding to a question from the floor on why the ministry is not investing in seed farming, he said the ministry involvement would conflict with laws that prohibit it from commercial farming.
Said Kawale: “We are using Admarc and the GBA because they can perform commercial functions.”
To curb the proliferation of counterfeit seed, the ministry has introduced scratch cards in seed packets to help farmers verify the quality of the seed ahead of the 2024/25 growing season.
“We are also collecting random samples from across the country and send to laboratories for testing with a view to ensure that they meet our minimum standards,” he said.
In response, Zomba Ntonya parliamentarian Ned Poya (United Democratic Front) commended the government for the measures, but bemoaned its perceived tendency to neglect other sectors, including extension services, research and animal production.
“Our research centres have become a shadow of their former selves. This is unfortunate because research can inform us on the type of seed and fertiliser varieties to use in our country,” he said.
Studies from local and international think-tanks show that applying uniform fertilisers to crops growing in soils with different PHs and composition limits the efficiency of chemical fertilisers.
