Abstract:

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to suffer from food deficits and poverty despite an abundance of natural resources, including large tracts of arable land, plentiful water and a large pool of human resources. Nearly 70% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa live in the rural areas and are engaged in agriculture. Therefore it is on the agricultural front that efforts to attain food security and poverty alleviation must be concentrated. It has been widely recognised that, more than any other input, improved seeds hold the key to enhanced farm productivity and increased income generation. However, despite decades of efforts by governments, the private sector and donors in the development of national seed programmes, the seed situation in sub-Saharan Africa remains dismal. The formal seed sector, as represented by seed parastatals, seed companies and donor seed projects, has had a considerable impact on the production and supply of hybrid maize and the seeds of other high-value crops such as wheat, soya bean and sunflower.