Seed producers accelerate agri technology adoption
Seed Trade Association of Malawi (Stam) has set up a brigade, tasking it to enhance agricultural technologies and innovations adoption in a bid to improve food productivity in the country.
The team, compromising seed manufacturers and traders, will be operating as technology and innovation subcommittee, said STAM general secretary Nessimu Nyama in an interview.
Its formation followed deliberations, convened by Stam and African Seed Traders Association, involving commercial seed producers and traders held in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
Nyama said: “The sub-committee will look into how we can popularise the importance of adopting these new technologies and Innovations. are coming in order to improve productivity of our crops.
“We are emphasising the issues of biotechnology. These are gene editing and genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds.”
Benefits of GMO in agriculture are increased crop yields, reduced need for pesticides, enhanced nutrient composition and food quality, resistance to pests and diseases.
Nyama said these technologies can boost agriculture productivity, effectively achieving the goals set out in the Malawi 2063, a blue print that seeks to make the nation an industrialised, middle-income economy in the next 40 years.
“The objective is to make sure that companies and farmers adopt these technologies because pillar number in Malawi vision 2063 talks about agriculture productivity and commercialisation,” Nyama said.
The subcommittee chairperson is Felix Jumbe, a former Member of Parliament and former chief executive officer for state controlled Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation.
Jumbe, who owns Peacock Seeds Company, said his vision is to ensure that a majority of farmers adopt biotechnology to counter poor climatic conditions currently haunting the country.
He affirmed that Stam supports biotechnology and looks forward to seeing the country do more than just Bt cotton as they explore food crops such as maize, banana and cassava.
“Droughts persistently affect the country…The technologies are there to boost productivity but what happens is that the uptake is still low.
“Even the use of hybrid seeds uptake is very low. It is at around 30 percent,” he said.
On his part, Pindulani Seed Company managing director Benedicto Chambo said adoption of biotechnology was the best way to tackle perennial food insecurity in the country.
Between October 2022 and March 2023, the latest lean period, 3.8 million people, representing 20 percent of the country’s population suffered high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report.
