Meeting supply challenges of quality seed in semi-arid eastern Kenya
1999
Njoroge, K. (National Dryland Farming Research Centre (Katumani), Machakos (Kenya). Plant Varietal Development Program) | Omanga, P. (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Machakos (Kenya). Plant Varietal Development Program) | Mwangi, W. (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)) | Bett, Ch. (National Dryland Farming Research Centre (Katumani), Machakos (Kenya). Socioeconomics Program) | Muhammad, L. (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Machakos (Kenya). Socioeconomics Program)
Non-availability of quality seed-maize constitutes a major constraint to maize production in the semi-arid regions of Kenya and probably throughout eastern Africa. Further research into better quality varieties may not be useful if the seed problem is not addressed effectively. The findings reported here were from a larger study that was designed to identify categorize and prioritize specific problems associated with the supply of quality seed to farmers in the semi-arid areas or eastern Kenya. Results showed that, while some of the problems lie in the domain of policy, certain critical issues are technical and need the attention of biological researchers and quality control agents. Farmers viewed the seed problem as a complex one whose answer should relate to all important crop species grown in the area because a partial solution focusing on maize alone will be largely ineffective. Due to lack of commercial appeal associated with improved seed of cultivars grown in this semi-arid area, traditional formal seed supply systems will continue to be grossly insufficient to service the farming communities. It was concluded that setting up village-level seed enterprises will be an effective strategy to open up new opportunities to avail adequate quality seed to farmers. The need to involve the various stakeholders including farmers, breeders, no-government organizations and the private sector in the overall implementation plan is proposed.
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]