Seed companies provide small seed packets for African farmers

Seed companies in Africa are learning fast to be like producers of consumer products by reducing the size of packets of seeds and fertilizers to help small holder farmers.

A press statement from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) which was copied to ghanabusinessnews.com says the effort by the seed companies is to help smallholder farmers take the first steps to scale-up production.

Describing the small packets, the AGRA said, “like cell phone scratch cards, small packets of high-quality seeds can be bought for just a few shillings, enabling farmers to try out the seed before risking their money on large purchases for uncertain results.”

“Small packets could unlock Africa’s farm potential by empowering farmers to try out new, harvest-boosting crop varieties that are best suited to their needs,” George Bigirwa of the AGRA was quoted as saying during a meeting of seed experts, entrepreneurs and others involved in Africa’s rapidly growing seed sector in Nairobi.

This new approach for seed marketing is being linked to thousands of small demonstration plots where even the most remote farmers can see the benefits of using improved seed. Together, these innovations could herald a revolution in an area key to Africa’s Green Revolution: getting improved technologies to poor, smallholder farmers across Africa’s vast agricultural landscape, the statement said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi