Maize seed systems in different agro-ecosystems; what works and what does not work for smallholder farmers

J. Coosje Hoogendoorn (), Genevieve Audet-Bélanger, Christian Böber, M. Laura Donnet, Kennedy Bisani Lweya, R. K. Malik and Peter R. Gildemacher
Additional contact information
J. Coosje Hoogendoorn: KIT-Royal Tropical Institute
Genevieve Audet-Bélanger: KIT-Royal Tropical Institute
Christian Böber: CIMMYT-International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center
M. Laura Donnet: CIMMYT-International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center
Kennedy Bisani Lweya: CIMMYT-International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center
R. K. Malik: CIMMYT-International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center
Peter R. Gildemacher: KIT-Royal Tropical Institute

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, No 23, 1089-1103

Abstract: Abstract Maize is a food field crop with a highly developed formal seed sector. The study reported here, involving 4 case studies in Malawi, Zambia, the state of Chiapas in Mexico and the state of Bihar in India, indicates that smallholder farmers are increasingly purchasing seed from the formal maize seed system in these different parts of the world. Points of sale vary from seed agent and agro-dealer to the local rural market. Many farmers are growing hybrid varieties, although, in particular, under conditions where higher yields justify seed costs, and with the objective of maize grain sales rather than home consumption, for which traditional varieties continue to be grown. While the findings indicate well-functioning seed value chains in the areas of study, producer surveys and seed value chain analysis also pointed to significant weak links in the formal maize seed systems that need to be improved, such as certification and seed quality control at point of sale, and the availability of financial services to support investments by farmers in quality seed and in seed entrepreneurship. The seed subsidy programs in Malawi and Zambia are likely to have stimulated the use of hybrid seed, but it is questionable whether farmers will continue to purchase hybrid seed if subsidies cease to be available. Although the 4 areas of study are relatively well developed, still a genuine demand for improved open pollinated varieties (IOPVs), local varieties and/or on-farm seed saving was identified. Therefore it should be recognized that even for maize, in addition to the private formal seed value sector based on hybrid varieties, there remains a task for public maize breeding efforts and farmer based maize seed systems for the foreseeable future.

Keywords: Seed access; Seed quality; Hybrids; IOPVs; Local varieties; Chiapas; Bihar; Malawi; Zambia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-018-0825-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:10:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12571-018-0825-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ulture/journal/12571

DOI: 10.1007/s12571-018-0825-0

Access Statistics for this article

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food is currently edited by R.N. Strange

More articles in Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food from Springer, The International Society for Plant Pathology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().