Demand for seed laws gain momentum

Seeds experts wants seed laws to allow farmer seed varieties to be part of the seed value chain by having a separate seed variety register that will address farmer seeds varieties.

By Francis Maingaila
Rufunsa (17-09-21) – Rufunsa Council Chairperson,  Kennedy Mailoni has accepted to present the demands for farmers in his area to President Hakainde Hichilema to cause the revision of the
seed laws to allow farmer seed varieties to be part of the seed value chain by having a separate seed variety register that will address farmer seeds varieties.
Mailoni told farmers when he graced the Farmers Dialogue held in Rufansa on Friday that his government attaches great importance to any innovation aimed at promoting the living standards of people.
Mailoni who agreed with the views of the farmers that wants the local seeds varieties recognised by-law regulating the supply of seeds in Zambia assured farmers that the government will find a way of fusing the idea in a wider agriculture policy.
Personally, Mailoni said he will whisper to president Hichilema and aid him to see the importance of local seeds varieties in matters of food security and cost serving in the agriculture productions.
Mailoni further pledged to work with the organisations promoting indignant seeds to ensure that their dreams will come to pass one day.
He said though indignant indignant seeds have been neglected for a very long time now, it was not only drought-resistant but require little or no use chemical fertiliser to grow.
He said having good local seeds varieties will help not only to beat hunger and bring about good yield but also help in massive wealth creation in Zambia.
And Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT)
programs manager Juliet Nang’amba said having the laws that recognise seed varieties as part of the seed value chain and have a separate seed variety register that addresses farmer seeds varieties would a positive development in the right direction.
Currently, Nang’amba observed, the available laws only favour the conventional breed seeds that require the use of chemical fertiliser and pesticides for high yielding.
If nothing is done to reverse the trend, Nang’amba feared, the people risk not only losing the seeds they have used since time immemorial but will be removed out of agriculture business for good.
Nang’amba however was consoled by the fact that Rufunsa has fully functioning seed banks where the people acquire seeds which is at risk of extinction.
Working together with cooperating partners, Like Zambia Alliance for Agroecology Biodiversity (ZAAB) Nang’amba said the idea of the seed bank is being decentralized out of Rufunsa to other districts across the country.
She said Seed Banks are an important element in the agriculture industry endangered seeds species are stored and preserved using natural means to enable those who don’t have the varieties can go and access them when needed.
After use Nang’amba explained, the farmers are mandated to return the seed to the bank to allow other formers that might not have it in stock to access and use in the next season.
She said the advantage of the indignant seeds is that they are not only cheap, accessible and medicinal but also nutritional and build community climate change resilience.
Nang’amba was of the considered view that the use of chemically enhanced crops does not cause unexplained diseases but also compromises the soil where the seeds are to grow.
She said despite having access to commercial breed crops  malnutrition and obesity is a major problem in the country
She said the use of seeds varieties can help restore the lost fertility in the soil.
Through crop diversification, Nang’amba explained, the pests fighting the crops will be defeat because some seeds varieties are inimical to the pests that fight the crops.
She said the seeds varieties help each other in fighting the pests that fight other vulnerable crops.
In the past, Nang’amba observed, forefathers used practice diversification because intercropping promoted soil fertility and help to fight crops pests.
By so doing, she said there was no need for them to use chemical fertiliser which today has compromised the soil.
She also regretted that the coming of high breeds has made agriculture very expensive in so far as the seeds and fertiliser very expensive.
Additionally, ZAAB National coordinator Mutinta Nketani observed that the local seeds varieties being promoted are capable of being shared among the local area.
Unlike the new seeds, Nketani said the indignant seed varieties can be reserved for use in the next farming season.
She manufacturer of the seeds and fertilizers are in business and promoting their product only serve to remove the people they depend on local seed for business out of business.
She said the use of modified seeds and chemical fertilisers have made agriculture very expensive hence the need for the people to come together and advocate for the new law that will protect and allow the use of indignant seeds.
She said the indignant seed being promoted does not need the aid of chemical fertiliser to grow because they have their mechanisms that rejuvenate the soil.
Once the new law is enacted into law to protect the indignant seeds, Nketani observed the question of GMO goods which has damaged the people will not be a problem anymore.
Further, Nketani said the promotion of indignant seeds will have a positive bearing on the culture which is also on the verge of dying.
She promised to work with the government to address inimical agriculture policies which compromised the health of the people and their source of income.
Meanwhile, Nketani proposed the idea of restructuring the FSIP to give freedom to farmers that may not want to buy chemical fertiliser to have an option to buy organic fertiliser using FSIP.
She suggested that the government should also include crop diversity in FSIP than focusing on one crop biased on high breed seeds.
She further expressed the need to come up with agriculture information in organic farming.
Unlike what is obtained at the moment where FSIP is focusing on maize, Nketani said they should expand FSIP to include all crops grown in the country than focusing on maize alone.
She said some of the varieties are dying a natural death because they are being sidelined by the agro-dealers.
Having the varieties will not only promote nutritious food but also help people have money.
Additionally, Nketani said some of the seed have special relevance in the culture and if they disappear, the culture risk going under.
She said promoting seed varieties will also help get attuned to the idea of crop diversification.
And acting Refunsa DACO Clementina Sinkala encouraged farmers to take care of the seed varieties within their reach and ensure that they are kept.
She urged the people to multiply the local varieties because they are nutritious and can help the people have food security.
She also encouraged the people to consider using organic fertiliser which she said was slightly cheap and is within reach.
She also told the people to plant crop varieties for diverse food for balanced diets.