East Africa: seed policies

Seed industry and trade, Markets, Public-private partnerships,

Striving for Higher Impacts in Agricultural Research and Development

Over the years, substantial investments in agricultural research have been made in sub-Saharan Africa. The few studies on research investments show impressive returns that are comparable to those achieved in developed countries. However, problems such as recurrent hunger, poverty, food insecurity and natural resource degradation continue to plague the region. Agricultural development arena is changing rapidly toward non-linear innovation systems of complex actor networks and multiple sources of innovations characterized by dynamic and iterative learning processes that constantly inform, renew and advance the state of the systems. Most actors and institutions are not linked effectively often from imaginary boundaries created by prescribed mandates and parochial interests. While more investments in research and development are required for the region, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify them in the wake of competing needs in the face of shrinking national budgets. The few impact assessments that have been carried out in the region have been incidental and not linked to the research planning cycle implying that lessons from previous research efforts are not used when planning for subsequent research and development efforts. We are proposing impact orientation to track impact to the attainment of institutional and overall development goals. This calls in part for impact assessment to be made an integral part of planning, monitoring and evaluation along with appreciation of the impact chain and actors involved in the innovation process to demonstrate relevance to development goals and thus justify funding.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Rationalization and Harmonization of Seed Policies and Regulations in Eastern and Central Africa: Effecting Policy Change through Private Public Partnerships

Cereal grains are important staple foods in Africa but yields are still too low at 1.5 tons per ha for maize while compared with a global average of 4.5 tons per ha. This can be partly attributed to limited development of commercial seed markets, low use of improved seeds, small and highly fragmented seed markets. Many released varieties are not widely disseminated due to closed national markets dominated by a few international companies and parastatals, and restrictive laws, regulations and policies. Transactions costs within and across national boundaries are high because of differing arrangements across countries. Establishment of common regulatory structures is expected to reduce transactions costs and promote increased trade and hence use of improved seeds. This paper describes the process, results, experiences and lessons learned in developing and operationalizing a seed trade harmonization system in eastern and central Africa. It is clear that the public-private partnerships can play a pivotal role in catalyzing, facilitating and supporting the establishment, development and strengthening of national and regional seed trade. By building partnerships and wide participation, the project was able to apply lessons learned from older to newer countries. The technical, political and legislative processes in the policy-change-cycle are equally important and optimal outcomes must be based on trade-offs between technical issues and interests of the stakeholders.Seeds, harmonization, public-private partnerships, eastern Africa, Crop Production/Industries, Q18, Q19,

Book review: Julius Nyerere by Paul Bjerk

In a short and precise volume, Paul Bjerk succeeds in debating the legacy of Nyerere in six short chapters. The book deals with the highs and lows of Nyerere’s illustrious political career and balances this in a manner befitting a great African statesman, says Nicodemus Minde

Opposition politics in Tanzania and why the country will benefit from a strong unified opposition

As opposition parties in Tanzania unite, Nicodemus Minde looks at how this new coalition could become a credible option for the country’s citizens

Recalibration or power consolidation of African ruling parties?

Nicodemus Minde explores the recent political changes in African ruling parties. Are they recalibrating or consolidating power

The use of participatory processes in wide-scale dissemination of micro dosing and conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe

Participatory technology development has been used for quite some time. However, little is known about how farmers perceive participatory methods and processes. Understanding farmers’ concerns about the participatory process can be an important starting point and can further the ultimate aim of encouraging sustained technology adoption. An ex-post participatory technology development and transfer evaluation was carried out in Zimbabwe in 2006/07 involving 231 farmers. It was revealed that use of demonstration trials encouraged the most participation and subsequent adoption and adaptation of the technologies to suit specific needs. The participatory nature of the process encouraged greater knowledge sharing among farmers and gave them more confidence in the technology. In order to increase the gains of the participatory process, feedback loops should be built in to allow improvements and modifications to be made to the techniques being promoted.Participatory approach, technology, dissemination, adoption, transfer, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Economics of Biotechnology (Gmos) and the Need for A Regional Policy: The Case for COMESA Countries

Many countries in the world have adopted genetically modified organisms as products that can have great beneficial impact on agriculture, industry and trade. However, to date for the whole of Africa, only South Africa has commercialized genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Realizing the high transactions costs—particularly in trade that may underlie different countries having varying policy stances on biotechnology, COMESA (COMESA—Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a regional grouping of 20 countries. In the context of this study, Tanzania is also included although it is not a COMESA member. This is because it belongs to the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) of which nine countries are in COMESA. ASARECA was an active partner in this process together with ACTS—African Centre for Technology Studies and PBS—Program on Biosafety) in collaboration with a number of partners embarked on a process of shaping a regional consensus on biotechnology policy for their 20 countries between 2004 and 2006 and adopted it in principle by the end of May 2006. Based on case studies of six countries—Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, this paper, summarizes the analysis of projected farm income gains in the region from commercialization of Bt maize and Bt cotton; provides an analysis of commercial export risks from approval of GMOs and states the position of COMESA countries on GMOs to date. Using quite conservative methods, projected net income gains from GMOs remain significant with over US $ 25 net benefit per hectare. As regards commercial export risks to Europe from GMOs, the analysis suggests that except for Egypt, countries need not fear significant export losses if they make a decision to plant any of the GM commodities currently on the market.Biosafety, Biotechnology, Africa, Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

“Supply and demand trends for fertilizer in Zimbabwe: 1930 to date”: Key drivers and lessons learnt

The fertilizer sector in Zimbabwe has evolved over the years in response to different policy changes based on the government’s priorities on agricultural development. The industry grew from the 1930s that targeted primarily large scale commercial farmers, through the liberalization period of the mid 1990s, and recent changes that have introduced controls on the marketing system. Since 2000, following the fast track land reform program, Zimbabwe has faced food insecurity challenges that have been exacerbated by the political and economic crises. This prompted the government to adopt policies that have reduced private sector interests in fertilizer supply. In this situation where explicit fertilizer markets have been absent, relief programs have been leading in facilitating deliveries of fertilizers to poorer smallholder farmers located even in remote areas. The supply of fertilizers in Zimbabwe has been driven by government policy, finance and infrastructure while the demand has primarily been a function of farmer’s capacity to acquire fertilizers, availability of water and farmers knowledge of fertilizer use. There is need for a policy shift that promotes a competitive fertilizer marketing to support a broader range of farmers in Zimbabwe leading to agricultural productivity growth. Investment in infrastructure is critical to reduce marketing costs and to boost fertilizer demand; policies that strengthen farmer’s capacity to acquire fertilizers and increase their knowledge on fertilizer use complemented by technologies that promote water use efficiencies are needed.Fertilizer, supply and demand, policy reform, consumption trends, Crop Production/Industries,